Zatypota percontatoria

Zatypota percontatoria
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Ichneumonidae
Genus:	Zatypota
Species:	Z. percontatoria
Binomial name
Zatypota percontatoria Mueller, 1776

Zatypota percontatoria is a species of parasitoid wasps that is part of the order Hymenoptera and the family Ichneumonidae responsible for parasitizing arachnids, specifically those of the Theridiidae family.

Zatypota percontatoria is a parasitoid that has been recently studied for its mechanism of parasitism. They reproduce by laying eggs within the abdomen of a spider by oviposition, slowly developing as an ectoparasitic koinobiont that will eventually kill its host. The wasp larva protects itself during the parasitism process through neuroparasitism affecting and controlling the behavior of the spider to the extent that they are unable to attack the larva. The mechanism is still fairly unknown, but it is believed that it involves hormones and/or polydnaviruses. The larva will influence the spider to the extent that it will build a web/cacoon for the pupal stage of the parasitoid wasp. Zatypota percontatoria wasps are distributed worldwide within several different counties, mostly within terrestrial locations that are rich with tree species preferring woodlands. Members of the order Hymenoptera are both parasitic and non-parasitic as some families continued to evolve as parasites while others lost parasitism as a trait. The family Ichneumonidae is one of the largest in the animal world, containing over 20,000 species that have been described or identified in some way. Although it is difficult to pin down exactly how many species there are within the family, there have been estimates that range from 60,000 to over 100,000.