#hooo thats a mouthful to tag

[catboy-kakashi]

hi! jewel wasp what? that's interesting... god bless the wasp but they do terrify me so maybe fun facts will help me appreciate them more <3

Oh boy oh boy i cant wait to tell you about the jewel wasp <3

Obvious warning for insects/wasps under the cut, as well as mentions of parasitism since that’s technically what jewel wasps are (they only prey on other insects though)

Okay so! First, I would love to show you my lovely friend the Jewel Wasp, aka Emerald Wasp, aaka Ampulex Compressa

Gorgeous, right? Look at those colors!

Now! The reason these beautiful little creatures are considered parasites is because they lay their eggs inside of living cockroaches - what would be an undeniably terrible time for the cockroach, if it was aware of what was happening, although evidence points to otherwise. What evidence, you may ask?

Well, the jewel wasp’s stinger isn’t just there to look pretty; it’s actually chockfull of tiny little sensors that make it the worlds most precise brain surgery tool. Before laying her eggs inside her victim, she wrestles the head of the cockroach and inserts her stinger into the base of the head, targeting the two spots that control locomotion and injects a gamma-aminobutyric acid.

Look at her go! So powerful!

This acid is an inhibitory neurotransmitter and renders the cockroach hypokinetic (meaning below normal movement), putting the cockroach into an almost dream-like state. She is able to control her victim by grabbing the base of the antennae and steering them; a much more effective way to get her living baby stroller into a safe place than having to drag a bug much larger than her.

The jewel wasp will steer her victim into some sort of small enclosure, inject her eggs into their stomach, and then close whatever openings exist to essentially entomb the victim (and her eggs) safely inside.

This is where the second part of the acid comes in; by slowing down the cockroaches metabolism, she can ensure that the cockroach lives as long as possible to give her eggs the best chance of surviving - since they will, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, begin to eat the cockroach from the inside out once they’ve hatched. As long as they eat carefully, the cockroach can stay alive until they’ve squeezed every bit of nutrients and blood out of their host, and in this cruel, cruel world every drop makes a difference in survival.

On top of the dream-like state, the cockroach’s brain is flooded with dopamine, which both keeps the cockroach in a placid state as well as promotes excessive grooming (a smart move by a parasite, since this will help to stave off additional competition). The cockroaches have been shown to be capable of “waking up” in states of high stress, such as escaping water to avoid drowning (whichever scientist thought to toss them in water almost certainly has some underlying issues, but at least they advanced science!), but from both the acid and the brain damage, they seem to be incapable of moving of their own free will in any other state. Posture and brain function (yes, someone hooked their tiny brains up to EMGs) suggest the roach really is in a dream state, unaware of it’s situation

Honestly, that last bit is what makes the jewel wasp so fascinating to me; plenty of parasites can lay their offspring inside their host, but to be able to zombify their victims? Incredible!! Nature is so fascinating <3

#nyway if you read all of this rambling im kissing you on the mouth so so sweetly #anon ask #wasp #insect #jewel wasp #ampulex compressa #long post #parasite #camtankerous says things #hopefully thats all the blocking tags ppl will need but if i missed one lmk! #ohhh hhoooo hooo i love talk about. bugs <3