(translated from french here)
To introduce this first article of a serie about the strangeness of nature I would like to recount the story of a tiny animal just over hundreds micrometre who has some unusual manners. Incest and cannibalism will be up to date to begin this blog.
When I was young, I thought that Nature was the prettiest thing of the world, so perfect, so beautiful… The falling was hard when I discovered some behaviours and anatomic adaptations of some species, especially those of this one. An acarien with the sweet name, Adactylidium whose all males die only few hours after their birth, without ever having nourished, or ever having bred.
It seems impossible at first, but when we look more closely the solution is simple. You will see over the readings - I hope - that living beings will never stop surprising us and that exceptional adaptations often hide in the infinitely small.
Reveal spoiler
photography done with an optical microscope
The pregnant female mite, like a parasite, will feed with a single Thrips egg throughout its gestation. Full to burst she carries 5 to 8 females and a single male in her abdomen.
When the offsprings are sufficiently developed the young male goes without further ado hastening to fertilize his own sisters inside the belly of the mother.
Then the birth will take place. What did I say ? Human childbirth appears as a sweet dream next to the Adactylidium birth. In fact, baby mites will begin to gnaw their mother from the inside in order to drill small holes to escape and will in turn find a thrip egg to parasitize. Leaving behind them the corpse of their mother like a lifeless shell filled with excrement.
Reveal spoiler
Female physogastric of Adactylidium gynaikothripsi parasitizing eggs of Gynaikothrips ficorum. source
Once the precious food is recovered the females will begin their gestation process, and the cycle begins again. As for the male, the biological task being already accomplished, he lets himself die.
Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed this story. Sorry if there are translation errors, please tell me if you see some.
See you !
If you want to learn more :
[FR] https://www1.montpellier.inra.fr/CBGP/acarologia/export_pdf.php?id=3818&typefile=pdf
The Panda's Thumb (book), Stephen Jay Gould
Photographies :