The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for laying 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 is adapted to functions such as preparing a place for the egg, transmitting the egg, and then placing it. For most insects, the organ is used to attach the egg to a surface however for many parasitic species, primarily in wasps and other Hymenoptera, it is also a piercing organ.