Overview

• AIST in Tsukuba announced the finding on Oct. 17 after documenting the species’ maternal behavior.
• Researchers observed fungal filaments emerging from an elliptic structure present only on females’ hind legs.
• Females scrape the cultured growth with their claws to spread it over newly laid eggs.
• The fungal coating blocks a wasp species from parasitizing the eggs without harming the embryos.
• The work overturns a long-held assumption of an auditory function and appears in the journal Science.