Host Manipulation
If spiders had nightmares, the larvae of ichneumonid wasps would have to star in them. The wasp lays an egg on the back of an orb weaver spider, where it grows fat and bossy, and occupies itself with turning the spider into a zombie.
Paper:
http://jeb.biologists.org/content/218/15/2326.short?rss=1&ssource=mfr
Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/14/science/a-wasp-that-turns-a-spider-into-the-walking-dead.html
#biodiversity #hostmanipulation #spiders #wasp
I wonder how long it'll be before we discover that we're mostly all controlled by some previously unknown parasite.
ReplyDeleteWell, aside from toxoplasmosis.
Bet that spider has a headache
ReplyDeleteFascinating!
ReplyDeleteOn a similar topic, I've seen wolf spider carcasses in wasp nests, that were abandoned, inside the shed I stored my bike, at home in Indiana. I always wondered who got there first....apparently the wasp had the upper hand!
ReplyDeleteParasitic wasps are awesome pest control buggers that are often much more effective than chemicals. The pest control guys here use them to control flies and nematodes for mosquitoes.
ReplyDeletekind of reminds me of my marriage.. (long ago)
ReplyDelete