Replication of Long Virus-like Particles in the Reproductive Tract of the Ichneumonid Wasp Diadegma terebrans

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Abstract
Long virus-like particles were found in the apical region of the calyx in the ichneumonid wasp Diadegma terebrans. Replication began in foci of intranulcear inclusion bodies where long, 20 nm diameter electron-dense cylinders were produced. These putative nucleocapsids were released into the cytoplasm after nuclear disintegration and became enveloped in areas containing many membrane-bound vesicles. Mature particles appeared in large vacuoles and were released by cell lysis into the calyx lumen. The mature particles were enveloped, 65 nm in diameter with a 20 nm diameter nucleocapsid and a length of at least 1 .mu.m with a long, narrow (20 nm diameter) end structure. This is the first report of a virus with such a morphology replicating in the family Ichneumonidae.