Zombie Mastermind: How Wasps Turn Caterpillars into Bodyguards
2025-03-19
Glyptapanteles wasps employ a horrifying life cycle: females inject up to 80 eggs into caterpillars. The larvae feed, then collectively emerge, leaving the caterpillar alive but manipulated. The larvae control the caterpillar, turning it into a bodyguard protecting their cocoons until it starves to death. Research by ecologist Arne Janssen at the University of Amsterdam shows this manipulation drastically improves the wasps' survival rates. This isn't simple parasitism; it's a brutal, efficient survival strategy showcasing nature's darker wonders.