Scientists from Rice University in Texas discovered an insidious zombie wasp with a creepy ability. They named it Euderus set after the Egyptian god of evil and chaos. It is also called as the crypt keeper wasp, the parasite of a parasite.
In Greek mythology, Set is a usurper who trapped his brother, Osiris, in a crypt, and then killed and mutilated him. Scientists agree that this is the perfect name for this new species.
It Makes For A Perfect Horror Movie Scene In Animal Kingdom
The scene is similar to a horror movie set in the animal kingdom, said. A gall wasp, a parasitic wasp species, drills into the branches of trees to create a space - or a crypt - for it to mature. It would then leave its crypt behind by tunneling its way through the bark and making a small hole in it.
However, a female crypt keeper wasp deposits its egg into the gall wasp's crypt. It would manipulate the gall wasp to make an emergence hole smaller than it normally would, so that when the gall wasp tries to escape the crypt, it would get stuck. At this point, the crypt keeper wasp would chew its way to out and and emerge through the gall wasp's head cavity.
The Crypt Keeper Wasp Starts Its Life By Eating Another Wasp
According to Daily Mail Online, it's like an alien film - the crypt keeper wasp starts its life by eating another wasp alive from the inside out. Rice University scientists say that this strange behavior in the new species wasp is a rare example of hypermanipulation - that's when a parasite manipulates other parasite.
Dr Scott Egan, lead researcher, said: "You have this one insect laying its eggs in another insect, controlling its behaviour and then devouring it from the inside out, and emerging from its head capsule."
Kelly Weinersmith, an evolutionary biologist at Rice who studies parasites, added that this is what she loves about parasitic manipulation. "So many of the stories that have been uncovered are just as cool as the coolest science fiction movie," she said.
