Beautiful wasp zombifies cockroach

in the African savannah lives a very interesting creature [Music] this is ampule X compressor the jeweled cockroach wasp she is on the hunt for something and this is it a cockroach she approaches it carefully as the roaches far bigger than she is once she is close enough she strikes stinging it twice the first sting disables the roaches front legs the second she delivers directly into the insect brain but this does not kill the roach nor is it even paralyzed the wasps venom simply disables the roaches escape reflex were you to turn on the light it would not scatter while the venom begins to take effect the roach grooms itself compulsively the wasp waits nearby having waited long enough the wasp returns to her pre vibrating her wing muscles like this allows her to sever the roaches antennae [Laughter] scientists think that by tasting the roaches blood she can gauge how effective her sting has been too little venom and the roach will recover before she is done with it too much and it may die too soon satisfied the wasp leads the stupefied insect to her burrow she probes the roaches body looking for just the right place once she has found it she lays on it a single egg the roach is not sustenance for her but rather for her young now she must protect her investment she carefully seals the butter with twigs and rocks [Music] a process that may take 30 minutes or more [Music] insights the burro the roach remains alive and well but unable to escape the egg will soon hatch as a grub the young insect will bore its way into the cockroaches body and consume its internal organs in the order most likely to keep it alive for as long as possible one month later a new wasp emerges ready to begin the process again you

Channel: Team Candiru

Views: 4,688,224

Rating: 4.8503261 out of 5

Keywords: natural history, nature, wildlife, wasp, macro, animal, cockroach, Ampulex, compressa, jewel wasp, zombie, Nightmare (Symptom), evolution

Id: -ySwuQhruBo

Length: 5min 23sec (323 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 18 2015

Reddit Comments

[u/Armourdildo]

Hi I'm the films director and lead cameraman. If anyone has any questions do ask away.

Edit: I need to go to the pub now. Will be back in a few hours.

Edit 2: I need to go to be now. Sorry America. I will come back and answer questions tomorrow! I promise!

[u/RoyalOcean]

How do they get such good shots inside the burrow?

[u/[deleted]]

Interesting creature

What a peculiar way to spell abomination.

[u/Milton_Friedman]

Aesthetically speaking, that's one gorgeous wasp.

[u/tea_and_biology]

You too can tinker with the mind of a cockroach and even control one using a mobile app! Check out RoboRoach - a commercially-available kit you can buy, whereby you strap a small control unit on the back of a roach, plug electrodes into it's brain, and control it's locomotion remotely with bluetooth. Take it back to your own burrows and lay eggs inside it.

I mean, that's, err, what humans do, right?

Anyway, going back to OP's video, for a little more information, here's a scientific paper which describes the biochemical mechanisms which turn the cockroach into a docile zombie. Quite interesting.

[u/AmazinglyMagicToast]

First time I've felt bad for a cockroach.

[u/IgotUBro]

"she carefully seals the butthole"

[u/Cyle_099]

Needs more David Attenborough.

[u/ANUSBLASTER_MKII]

She gave the cockroach a Hot Cosby.