The
ovipositor is an
organ used by some
animals for the laying of
eggs. In insects an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typically its form it is adapted to functions such as transmitting the egg, preparing a place for it, and placing it properly. In some
insects the organ is used merely to attach the egg to some surface, but in many
parasitic species (primarily in
wasps and other
Hymenoptera) it is a piercing organ as well.