Last week I talked a bit about parisitoid fly larvae. Now, the
genomes have has been published for three species of parisitoid
wasps in Science. These guys are every bit as brutal as the
flies, and then some. They forcibly inject their eggs into their
insect hosts, often caterpillars. Some species inject multiple
eggs while other inject a single egg that later divides into
many cloned larvae that form a colonial social hierarchy within
their host. Once they mature, the larvae burst out the side of
their host. However, even this insult isn’t the end of the
torture for the unfortunate caterpillar. The larvae employ mind
controlling chemicals to force the caterpillar to use its silk
to build them a cocoon, and then watch over its pupating
murderers until it keels over dead. Parisitoid wasp larvae from
National Geographic’s, “In the Womb.” Watch in high quality for
maximum revulsion. Nature, you are one psychotic bitch. Read
this review for a wider overview of parasitoid wasps and their
contributions to pest cont