The underside of an insect's abdomen is covered by overlapping plates called stermites.
In the insect class Orthoptera, which includes crickets and grasshoppers, the last stemite of a female's abdomen supports an
ovipositor. An ovipositor is a long, thin appendage that is used to transmit eggs. In grasshoppers, the ovipositor is strong enough to
burrow a hole into the earth to place the eggs.
In the insect class Hymenoptera, which includes wasps and bees, the last stemite on a female's abdomen supports a stinger
surrounded by venom glands. The stinger may be relatively long or relatively short, depending on the species. The stinger is used to
paralyze prey or to defend the insect from threats. In some parasitoid wasps, which are species that lay their eggs in host organisms,
the stinger also functions as an ovipositor. With this structure, a wasp can paralyze its host before laying its eggs, which helps
prevent injury to the wasp.
Which statement about Orthopterans and Hymenopterans is most strongly supported by this information?
OA. Unlike Orthopterans, Hymenopterans are unable to develop ovipositors because they only have a few stemites.
OB. Mutations in genes that control the development of stingers in Hymenopterans led to the development of ovipositors in
Orthopterans.
OC. Ovipositors and stingers provide evidence of a shared evolutionary history between Hymenopterans and Orthopterans.
OD. Unlike the ovipositors of Orthopterans, the ovipositors of Hymenopterans are vestigial structures.