Zatypota maculata
{{short description|Species of spiders}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Zatypota maculata larva.jpg
| image_caption = A larva of Z. maculata upon the abdomen of N. japonica, hiding inside a retreat with her spiderlings.
| taxon = Zatypota maculata
| authority = Matsumoto & Takasuka, 2010
}}
Zatypota maculata, which is a member of ichneumonid ectoparasitoids of spiders, called the Polysphincta-group (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Pimplinae), is endemic to Japan{{Cite journal|last1=Matsumoto|first1=R.|last2=Takasuka|first2=K.|date=2010|title=A revision of the genus Zatypota Förster of Japan, with descriptions of nine new species and notes on their hosts (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae)|journal=Zootaxa|volume=2522|pages=1–43|doi=10.11646/zootaxa.2522.1.1|s2cid=87394820 |issn=1175-5334}}Yu, D.S., van, Achterberg, K. & Horstmann, K. (2016) Taxapad 2016, World Ichneumonoidea 2015. Database on flash-drive. Ottawa, ON, Canada. and utilizes exclusively Nihonhimea japonica (Araneae, Theridiidae) as host.
Oviposition behavior<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Takasuka|first1=K.|last2=Matsumoto|first2=R.|last3=Maeto|first3=K.|date=2019|title=Oviposition behaviour by a spider-ectoparasitoid, ''Zatypota maculata'', exploits the specialized prey capture technique of its spider host|journal=Journal of Zoology|volume=308|issue=3|pages=221–230|doi=10.1111/jzo.12668|s2cid=131880633 |issn=0952-8369|hdl=20.500.14094/90008174|hdl-access=free}}</ref>
Oviposition behavior of Zatypota maculata toward its host spider, N. japonica, is highly adapted to a knockdown 3D web. Nihonhimea japonica constructs a characteristic web called the ‘knockdown 3D web’, which consists of a non‐viscid intricate 3D cobweb, a retreat made of a dead leaf at the center, and a dense non‐viscid sheet web at the bottom that serves as a capturing device (the video of the typical prey capturing behavior by the knockdown 3D web is available [http://www.momo-p.com/showdetail-e.php?movieid=momo131018pj01b here]). To cope with this specific web, Z. maculata has evolved two types of tactics; the one is creeping-style while the other is diving-style.
The creeping-style is that the wasp climbs the 3D cobweb, creeps up slowly onto the spider's retreat, taking a long time so that the spider does not escape, and finally enters the retreat to sting the spider (the video of the typical creeping-style is available [https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/downloadSupplement?doi=10.1111%2Fjzo.12668&file=jzo12668-sup-0001-VideoS1.mp4 here]). The diving-style is that the wasp dives from outside of the web onto the sheet, as a knocked-down prey item would, to lure the spider out, before stinging it at the moment of contact (the video of the typical diving-style is available [https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/downloadSupplement?doi=10.1111%2Fjzo.12668&file=jzo12668-sup-0002-VideoS2.mp4 here]).
