Pigeon Horntail

An insect known as the pigeon horntail (Tremex columba) deposits its eggs, by means of a strong, piercing ovipositor, half an inch deep in the trunk wood of growing trees. Female uses ovipositor to bore through bark into wood, depositing 1 slender egg in each hole. Eggs are covered with fungal spores from a special pocket in female’s abdomen. After depositing the last egg, the female often dies without removing its ovipositor from the wood. The dead female becomes food for some insectivorous animal.

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