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Jewel Wasp — printable fact sheet
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Jewel Wasp
Ampulex compressa
Ampulex compressa, an iridescent green-blue wasp about 2 cm long, performs the most precise act of neurosurgery in the animal kingdom. It attacks a cockroach several times its size and delivers two stings. The first goes into the thorax and briefly paralyses the front legs. The …
Did you know?
- Jewel Wasps perform precise neurosurgery with their stinger, targeting specific parts of a cockroach's brain to alter its behavior.
- Injecting the same venom into the same brain region of a roach that has not been stung reproduces the zombie state exactly, which is how researchers proved the mechanism. A stung roach will still groom itself, and it can right itself and even swim, but it will not spontaneously start walking. The larva sterilises its meal, secreting antimicrobials into the roach's body cavity so the carcass does not rot around it.
What I learned
Draw the jewel wasp
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