ovipositor

ovipositor

English

A grasshopper's ovipositor.

Etymology

From Latin ōvum (“egg”) +‎ Latin positor (“one who deposits”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /əʊvɪˈpɒzɪtə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /oʊvɪˈpɑzɪtɚ/

Noun

ovipositor (plural ovipositors)

1. (zoology) A tubular protruding organ for laying eggs.
   • 2019 September 15, Jonathan Amos, “Wasps: If you can't love them, at least admire them”, in BBC News‎:

     I'm fascinated by a splendid European wasp - Rhyssa persuasoria (sabre wasp). […] It has a remarkable ovipositor. That's the multi-function "hypodermic needle" at the end of the abdomen, and, in this instance, it doubles the length of the wasp to about 8cm.

Related terms

• oviposit
• oviposition

Translations

tubular organ for laying eggs

Dutch: legboor (nl) f Finnish: munanasetin (fi) Greek: ωοθέτης (el) m (oothétis), ωοαποθέτης (el) m (ooapothétis) Irish: ubhlonnaitheoir m Italian: ovopositore m Macedonian: легалка f (legalka) Maori: pūtukuhua, pūwhānauhua Spanish: ovipositor m

Further reading

• ovipositor on Wikipedia.Wikipedia