parasitoids

11.23.09

The Voodoo Wasp

Not content with laying its eggs inside a caterpillar's body, a parasitic wasp then turns the host into a zombie babysitter
By Stuart Fox Posted 06.20.2008 at 12:50 pm 3 Comments

Let's hope the Glyptapanteles wasp continues to find caterpillars tastier than humans — otherwise mankind might be in some trouble. As if laying 80 eggs inside of a caterpillar's body weren't bad enough, a new study published by the Public Library of Science details how the wasp larvae then take over the mind of the caterpillar, turning it into a zombie-like bodyguard.

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