Website review: Wasp performs roach-brain-surgery t...
LeberMac discovered this in Bizarre/Oddities
•80 reviews since Oct 23, 2007
bizarre, science, biology
•boingboing.net/2006/02/03/wasp-performs-roach...
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Reviews of this website
LeberMac discovered 9 months ago- Completely awesome how this wasp controls the actions of its hapless prey: a roach.
- traindabrain rated 4 months ago
- Wow, that's pretty freaky.
- jengis rated 5 months ago
- Wasp performs roach-brain-surgery to make zombie slave-roaches Ampulex compressa is a wasp that has evolved to tackle roaches, insert a stinger into their brains and disable their escape reflexes. This lets the wasp use the roach's antennae to steer the roach to its lair, where it can lay its egg in it. Parasite Rex author Carl Zimmer tells the story in gooey, graphic detail: The wasp slips her stinger through the roach's exoskeleton and directly into its brain. She apparently use ssensors along the sides of the stinger to guide it through the brain, a bit like a surgeon snaking his way to an appendix with a laparoscope. She continues to probe the roach's brain until she reaches one particular spot that appears to control the escape reflex. She injects a second venom that influences these neurons in such a way that the escape reflex disappears. From the outside, the effect is surreal. The wasp does not paralyze the cockroach. In fact, the roach is able to lift up its front legs again and walk. But now it cannot move of its own accord. The wasp takes hold of one of the roach's antennae and leads it--in the words of Israeli scientists who study Ampulex--like a dog on a leash. The zombie roach crawls where its master leads, which turns out to be the wasp's burrow. The roach creeps obediently into the burrow and sits there quietly, while the wasp plugs up the burrow with pebbles. Now the wasp turns to the roach once more and lays an egg on its underside. The roach does not resist. The egg hatches, and the larva chews a hole in the side of the roach. In it goes. The larva grows inside the roach, devouring the organs of its host, for about eight days. It is then ready to weave itself a cocoon--which it makes within the roach as well. After four more weeks, the wasp grows to an adult. It breaks out of its cocoon, and out of the roach as well. Seeing a full-grown wasp crawl out of a roach suddenly makes those Alien movies look pretty derivative.
- raikiri86 rated 7 months ago
- zombie roaches O_o
- BettyJoBradley rated 8 months ago
- "Wasp performs roach-brain-surgery to make zombie slave-roaches" Cool but also... Gag me out the door.
- xineann rated 8 months ago
-
Wasp performs roach-brain-surgery to make zombie slave-roaches
I am going to show incredible restraint and quote only from the article:
From the outside, the effect is surreal. The wasp does not paralyze the cockroach. In fact, the roach is able to lift up its front legs again and walk. But now it cannot move of its own accord. The wasp takes hold of one of the roach's antennae and leads it--in the words of Israeli scientists who study Ampulex--like a dog on a leash.
The zombie roach crawls where its master leads, which turns out to be the wasp's burrow. The roach creeps obediently into the burrow and sits there quietly, while the wasp plugs up the burrow with pebbles. Now the wasp turns to the roach once more and lays an egg on its underside. The roach does not resist. The egg hatches, and the larva chews a hole in the side of the roach. In it goes.
- jajajayu rated 9 months ago
- "Ampulex compressa is a wasp that has evolved to tackle roaches, insert a stinger into their brains and disable their escape reflexes. This lets the wasp use the roach's antennae to steer the roach to its lair, where it can lay its egg in it. Parasite Rex author Carl Zimmer tells the story in gooey, graphic detail." Dr. Colby can perform this procedure in her office. No insurance required.
- isabead rated 9 months ago
- The wasp slips her stinger through the roach's exoskeleton and directly into its brain. She apparently use ssensors along the sides of the stinger to guide it through the brain, a bit like a surgeon snaking his way to an appendix with a laparoscope. She continues to probe the roach's brain until she reaches one particular spot that appears to control the escape reflex. She injects a second venom that influences these neurons in such a way that the escape reflex disappears. From the outsid
- icequeen057 rated 9 months ago
- This wasp has evolved to take over a roach's brain, escort it to its lair, and lay eggs inside of it. It's like some kind of bizarre horror movie!
- kellieann rated 9 months ago
- From the page: ". wasps performs roche brain surgery to make roache a zombie Seeing a full-grown wasp crawl out of a roach suddenly makes those Alien movies look pretty derivative. "
