In the absence of a sting, male wasps “sting” with their genitals.

Misuki Tsujiresearcher kobe ​​universitystudied worker wasps in Japan Anterchinchius gibbifrons when one of them bit him. This could be one of the most common things that anyone who studies wasps undergoes, were it not for the fact that whoever did it was a male specimen. The scientist was shocked because, as with bees, only females can use this defensive strategy.

Males do not tend to bite, and in fact it was believed that they could not. The females have the sting what actually is modified ovipositor. That is the organ for laying eggs. Males do not have such a structure, which is logical. But how then could this wasp sting Tsuji?

Faced with this question, the scientist and her colleagues launched an investigation, which is now published in Current biologyin which they conclude that males can also be stung by something unexpected: they genitals.

Wasps that sting with their genitals

To test how the males of this wasp species can sting, the researchers exposed some of them to one of their main predators: the tree frog. Japanese dryophytes.

They saw that by joining them together, all the frogs attacked wasps without exception. However, just over a third of them were spat out. It was a typical reaction to defend against an attack. So when checking the images, they saw that the wasps were using their genitals to sting the frogs and prevent them from eating them.

At least that’s how it looked. To be sure, the researchers took several males and they removed their genitals. They later brought them back into contact with the frogs, who ate them with no problem.

What do they bite?

It should be noted that the males of this and other families of wasps have a structure known as peniswhose name speaks for itself. These structures have always been studied for their reproductive role. However, despite its pointed shape, it was not believed that it could serve defensive weapon.

We now know that they could have used it against frogs, as well as against any other species that poses a threat to them. And that includes us people. Because as much as we hate wasps sometimes, the truth is that they fear us more than we fear them. That’s why they bite because they feel threatened. If we leave them alone, chances are they won’t sting us with their stingers or genitals.