All bug species are born with a defence system. Insects employ a variety of strategies to protect themselves from potential predators, including hiding among the leaves and creating repulsive odours. A second example of a defence system is an insect’s genitalia! You did read that correctly.
Mason wasp males can employ spines on their genitalia to prevent being consumed by predators, according to research from Japan. This finding was confirmed by the team after conducting experiments on 17 tree frogs with 17 male mason wasps.
Over a third of the frogs rejected the wasps in the end, despite the fact that all of them first attacked the insects.
The authors of the study published in the journal Current Biology about the experiment, said, ‘Male wasps were frequently observed to pierce the mouth or other parts of frogs with their genitalia while being attacked.’
On the contrary, when the tree frogs were introduced to the male wasps whose genitalia was removed, all of the frogs ate the insect
Observing this, the team came to an inference and said, ‘Therefore, genital spines appear to play a role in preventing tree frogs from swallowing male wasps.’
Further study also shows that these spines do not appear to be used during the time of mating, which further adds volume to the observation made by the researchers.
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