JHR 33: 25–61 (2013)Morphology and function of the ovipositor mechanism in Ceraphronoidea... 25 doi: 10.3897/JHR.33.5204 RESEARCH ARTICLE www.pensoft.net/journals/jhr Morphology and function of the ovipositor mechanism in Ceraphronoidea (Hymenoptera, Apocrita) Andrew F. Ernst1, István Mikó1,2, Andrew R. Deans1,2 1 North Carolina State University, Department of Entomology, Raleigh, NC 27695-7613 USA 2 Pennsylva- nia State University, Department of Entomology, 501 ASI Building, University Park, PA 16802 USA Corresponding author: István Mikó (
[email protected]) Academic editor: M. Yoder | Received 25 March 2013 | Accepted 4 July 2013 | Published 1 August 2013 Citation: Ernst AF, István Mikó I, Deans AR (2013) Morphology and function of the ovipositor mechanism in Ceraphronoidea (Hymenoptera, Apocrita). Journal of Hymenoptera Research 33: 25–61. doi: 10.3897/JHR.33.5204 Abstract The ovipositor of apocritan Hymenoptera is an invaluable source of phylogenetically relevant characters, and our understanding of its functional morphology stands to enlighten us about parasitoid life history strategies. Although Ceraphronoidea is one of the most commonly collected Hymenoptera taxa with considerable economic importance, our knowledge about their natural history and phylogenetic relation- ships, both to other apocritan lineages and within the superfamily itself, is limited. As a first step towards revealing ceraphronoid natural diversity we describe the skeletomuscular system of the ceraphronoid ovi- positor for the first time. Dissections and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy 3D media files were used to visualize the ovipositor complex and to develop character concepts. Morphological structures were described in natural language and then translated into a character-character state format, whose terminol- ogy was linked to phenotype-relevant ontologies.