Horrifying parasitic wasp with a giant head is one of more than 100 newfound species discovered in the Amazon | Live Science
Brandon Claridge, a doctoral candidate in biology at Utah State University, and colleagues discovered the strange wasp species as part of a long-term surveying process, in which they laid malaise traps, large, tent-like structures that capture flying insects in the understory of the rainforest. The new wasp, which can grow up to 0.7 inch (1.7 centimeters) long, is a “solitary endoparasitoid,” meaning it lays a single egg inside the body of its host. Caterpillars, beetles, and even spiders can fall prey to this voracious parasite.
“Once the host is located and mounted, the female will frantically stroke it with her antennae,” Claridge told Live Science in an email. “If acceptable, the female will deposit a single egg inside the host by piercing it with her ovipositor (a tube-like, egg-laying organ).”
After a few days, the eggs will hatch and the newly hatched larvae will eat the host from the inside out. These larvae then continue to develop inside a hard protective shell, or pupae inside the corpse of their host, only emerging once they have transformed into adult wasps.
I heard somewhere that Darwin lost his faith because wasps are just so nasty. Is there any truth to this? Either way, wasps are extremely nasty.