EVIL INCARNATE?

Evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin considered Parasitic Wasps to be just “so evil” that they were clear evidence that God was having a day off. Up close, the reproductive habits of these insects sound like a SciFi trope. (Imagine Alien (1979) only without the iconic “Facehuggers”). The females use an adapted sting mechanism to inject eggs, venom and a virus into a hapless host. Stealing another SciFi staple, some Parasitic Wasps are even able to chemically control their victim’s behavior, (effectively “zombifying” them) to help their young to establish. Horrifyingly, as the wasp larvae grow, they consume the host alive, before emerging.

For balance, it’s important to note that many of the victims of Parasitic Wasps would otherwise go on to consume human crops. This means that they are at the centre of ongoing research into chemical-free bio-control systems. That’s to say that their actions could depopulate pest species without poisoning the environment we live in.

So, Parasitic Wasps ARE incredibly alien, but potentually good monsters and maybe even allies going forward?

See “Parasitic wasps turn other insects into ‘zombies,’ saving millions of humans along the way”, www. physics.org