This is a fascinating article about a wasp called Ampulex compressa, which has the ability to sting its victims and make them obedient to its will in every way. Definitely makes me glad to be perched atop the food chain.
The wasp slips her stinger through the roach’s exoskeleton and directly into its brain. She apparently uses sensors along the sides of the stinger to guide it through the brain …This and other stories can be found in this book.From the outside, the effect is surreal. The wasp does not paralyze the cockroach. In fact, the roach is able to lift up its front legs again and walk. But now it cannot move of its own accord. The wasp takes hold of one of the roach’s antennae and leads it–in the words of Israeli scientists who study Ampulex–like a dog on a leash.
