{"id":114,"date":"2011-07-11T14:00:14","date_gmt":"2011-07-11T21:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/?p=114"},"modified":"2012-11-28T02:07:45","modified_gmt":"2012-11-28T10:07:45","slug":"the-jewel-wasp-is-amazing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2011\/07\/the-jewel-wasp-is-amazing\/","title":{"rendered":"A Parasitic Wasp that Injects Its Venom Into a Cockroach\u2019s Brain in Order to Control It"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jewel<\/a>Today I found out<\/a> that the Jewel Wasp, also known as the “Emerald Cockroach Wasp”, is a parasitic wasp that injects various mind controlling toxins into a cockroach’s brain then leads the roach back to its burrow where its hatched larva ultimately slowly eat the still living cockroach’s body from the inside out.\u00a0 So basically, a lot like my brother’s ex-girlfriend.<\/p>\n

Specifically, the Wasp starts by stinging the cockroach around its midsection.\u00a0 This temporarily paralyzes the roach’s front legs.\u00a0 Now that the roach’s ability to move is slightly inhibited, the wasp makes a much more precise sting, injecting its venom into the part of the roach’s brain that controls its ability to initiate walking.<\/p>\n

The venom injected into a specific part of the brain of the cockroach doesn’t actually affect the general motor skills of the roach.\u00a0 At this point, it’s perfectly capable of fleeing, if it could be motivated to do so.\u00a0 The problem is that the venom actually seems to inhibit the cockroaches desire to flee from potential danger and even pain, specifically by inhibiting the ability of the cockroach to begin complex behaviors, such as walking.\u00a0 The venom does this by blocking a specific neurotransmitter called “octopamine”. Once they are coerced into moving, they can walk just fine, though they have trouble forcing their body to continue to move.<\/p>\n

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In any event, once the wasp has injected its venom into the correct part of the cockroach’s brain, the wasp is free to lead the roach back to a burrow by gently pulling on the antennae like a leash, which provides enough external stimulus to coax the zombiefied cockroach to walk, so long as the wasp continues to tug and guide it. Once in the burrow, the magic happens.\u00a0 The wasp lays an egg on the roach’s abdomen.\u00a0 It then exits the burrow and blocks up the hole.\u00a0\u00a0 The roach then sits around in the burrow seemingly without a care in the world.<\/p>\n

About three days later, which is coincidentally about the same time the venom will begin to wear off, a little larva is hatched and proceeds to feed on the delectable roach.\u00a0 But the fun doesn’t stop here.\u00a0 The larva doesn’t actually eat all the roach right away.\u00a0 No, the roach is still quite alive when the baby wasp chews into its abdomen and proceeds to live there as a parasite.\u00a0 Over the next week or so, the larva eats the roach’s internal organs generally in such an order that the roach will stay alive for quite some time (four or five days).\u00a0 Once the larva has eaten all the innards of the roach and the roach dies, it then forms a cocoon inside the cockroach’s body from which a full grown wasp eventually emerges.<\/p>\n

Bonus<\/span> Facts:<\/p>\n