EMBRYOGENESIS OF MESOLEIUS TENTHREDINIS MORL. (HYMENOPTERA: ICHNEUMONIDAE)

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Abstract
The embryogenesis of the parasitic ichneumonid Mesoleius tenthredinis Morl. is more similar to that of the ichneumonid Pimpla turionellae (L.) than to that of the other monembryonic ichneumonids (Banchus femoralis (Thoms.) and Diadegma vestigialis (Ratz.)) that have been studied in detail. The differences between the embryogeny of M. tenthredinis and that of P. turionellae are reduction of periplasm; proliferation of the middle plate cells after their overgrowth by the lateral plates; extension of the tail end of the germ anlage to produce a dorsal, anal opening; intercellular pole cell reentry just before the occurrence of gastrulation caudally; no rudimentary amnion; and incorporation of many deutoplasmic granules in the serosal cells, so that the embryo is completely surrounded by a layer of deutoplasm following embryonic envelope formation. The mode of embryonal development indicates that P. turionellae and M. tenthredinis are primitive endoparasitoids.