A wasp leads a cockroach into her burrow by its antenna, and the roach just follows.
It can still walk, so why doesn’t it run? This is the emerald jewel wasp, and two careful stings are all she needs. Stay for what happens inside the burrow.
Sources:
Haspel, Rosenberg & Libersat, “Direct injection of venom by a predatory wasp into cockroach brain,” Journal of Neurobiology (2003)
Weisel-Eichler, Haspel & Libersat, “Venom of a parasitoid wasp induces prolonged grooming in the cockroach,” Journal of Experimental Biology (1999)
Libersat, “Wasp uses venom cocktail to manipulate the behavior of its cockroach prey,” Journal of Comparative Physiology A (2003)
Gal & Libersat, “A wasp manipulates neuronal activity in the sub-esophageal ganglion to decrease the drive for walking in its cockroach prey,” PLoS ONE (2010)
Subscribe to Blocky IRL for a new weird fact every day 🟨
#shorts #howitworks #didyouknow
source