Reproduction

     Mating rituals had by Hymenoepimecis argryaphaga are only slightly atypical compared to wasps of the same genus. When in search of females, the male wasps do not exhibit aggressive tendencies toward one another, which may actually appear to be odd when looking at the animal kingdom as a whole. Attracted by the long-range pheromones released from the female wasps, the male inevitably finds the causative agent of the scent. Once this occurs, the male bends its abdomen forward and upon reaching the female, injects its sperm, much like the photo of the two Ichneumonidae below. After a period of five to ten seconds, the female withdraws, whereby the two part ways (Eberhard, 2000).

 
Photo courtesy of: Muhammad Mahdi Karim

     The female, now with an amount of sperm given to it, has a few options: she can choose to utiliize the sperm immediately and transfer it directly to the ovaries for egg development or she can store it. Most female insects have a spermatheca sac used for long-term (up to a year or more!) sperm storage. Female H. argyraphaga may choose the latter approach when the current conditions --either externally or internally-- are unfavorable (Campbell et. al, 2008).

How does this organism interact?