Giant-headed parasite wasp found in Amazon that ‘eats prey from the inside out’ – then lays eggs in victim’s body
RESEARCHERS have uncovered a new species of wasp in the Amazon rainforest.
Dubbed Capitojoppa amazonica, the new species has a giant head and a bright yellow body.
Perhaps most notable, it features a giant stinger that stabs its prey so it can suck out its fluids.
In an odd series of events, the wasp then eats its prey’s body from the inside out.
The new species was discovered in the Amazon by Brandon Claridge, a doctoral candidate in biology at Utah State University, and colleagues.
It can grow up to 0.7 inches long and is classified as a “solitary endoparasitoid.”
That means it can lay a single egg inside the body of its prey, which can include caterpillars, battles, or spiders.
“Once the host is located and mounted, the female will frantically stroke it with her antennae,” Claridge told Live Science.
“If acceptable, the female will deposit a single egg inside the host by piercing it with her ovipositor (a tube-like, egg-laying organ).”
The eggs will hatch after a few days and the larvae will eat the host from the inside out.
Eventually, the larvae will leave the host once it has transformed into an adult wasp.
In some species, the “females will even stab the host with the ovipositor,” Claridge said.
They will then “feed without laying an egg as it helps with gaining nutrients for egg maturation,” Claridge added.
Live Science revealed that the new species is just one of 109 that they came across.
Wasps are an insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita.
Those that can sting their prey are members of the clade Aculeata.
The most commonly known wasps include yellowjackets and hornets.