Rất nam tính

-----

When a Japanese entomologist (nhà nghiên cứu sâu bọ, nhà côn trùng học) got stung (châm, chích) by a male wasp (ong bắp cày) earlier this year, she was shocked. Only female wasps and bees should be able to deliver such a painful prick (châm, chích, chọc), as their venom (nọc)-bearing stingers are modified egg-laying organs known as ovipositors. Males are generally considered harmless (vô hại).

After taking a closer look at the mason wasp (Anterhynchium gibbifrons) that stung her, the scientist realized it had pierced her skin using its sharp, two-pronged genitalia, she and colleagues report today in Current Biology.

To test whether these male pseudostingers might deter attackers, the researchers placed male mason wasps inside an enclosure with one of their predators, a tree frog. As the frogs attacked the wasps every time, the wasps fought back with their piercing penises—and got spat back out about one-third of the time (as seen in the photo above). Male wasps that had their pseudostingers removed uniformly became frog food.

The findings represent the first evidence (bằng chứng) of male genitalia playing a defensive role (vai trò tự vệ) in the animal kingdom. Now that they know what to look for, the researchers suspect they’ll find similar tactics in other wasps.

Bài trước: Tưởng là đương nhiên