“Zombie” Roaches Really Exist!
As reported by Mati Milstein for National Geographic Magazine in December 2007, it has been discovered that the “parasitic jewel wasp” has targeted the common cockroach as a host for the incubation site of their larva.
Scientists have discovered that the parasitic jewel wasp injects venom directly into the cockroach’s brain, thereby inhibiting its free will by blocking the chemical substance known as “octopamine” in the cockroach’s brain.
Octopamine is a brain substance that places insects in an alert state, inspires them to move, and allows them to perform demanding physical tasks.
As the “zombie” cockroach is unable to fight against this seemingly lethal paralysis, it can be pulled into the wasp’s underground lair where an egg is then laid in its abdomen. The larva hatches approximately a month later and eats the still “living” but incapacitated cockroach from the inside out.
WHOA!! Talk about eeeewwwww!!!! I guess zombie-ism isn’t just for humans after all!
The study recently appeared in the Journal of Experimental Biology.
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Comments (10)
Just plain roaches freak me out, really dont need thinking about zombie ones..lol.
Love the new look BTW
RN
Reel Ninja’s last blog post..Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
That is a goddam badass insect…
…that I never want to encounter.
Ryne’s last blog post..GO DO URBAN CHILLER’S SCREAM CONTEST
That’s taking zombie-fying to a new level.
Mintea’s last blog post..Taking My Writing Offline
Aaaaaaahhhhh! That gave me chills. ::shudders::
Daisy the Curly Cat’s last blog post..Wordless Wednesday: Daisy in Chains
Awesome!! I stumbled it.
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There is also a Tarantula Wasp that creates tarantula zombies. I found out about it on one of my daily hikes. I’m always on the look-out for tarantulas ’cause I think they’re neat. However, one day I noticed the coolest looking bug: it had a bright, metallic body and bright orange wings (about the color of a road hazard cone).
I got real close and checked it out. Later I looked it up and discovered it was called a Pepsis Wasp (also known as a Tarantula Hawk) and has the second most powerful sting of any insect in the world (second only to the bullet ant).
I still see them on my hikes, but now I steer clear.
I for one, welcome our zombie insect overlords!
Now, if only they could develop a singular consciousness…
enemy’s last blog post..MOW: From Beyond
Jesus F**king Christ! Sorry to blaspheme but that is bloody scary.
Would be perfect for a giant cockroach using humans B movie!
Forest Parks’s last blog post..I’m Blind…. thank Poseidon for saving my life
I’m so glad you guys liked it as I did.
@Ninja & @Ryne - I could not agree more!
@Min - thats why I liked it!
@Daisy - you could take em out easy and not get hurt! You are a tough girl!
@Garg - so cool! Thank you!
@Rooster - anything with “PEPSI” in their name has GOT to be cool!
@Enemy - its those awesome insects that make for great movies. I love it!
@Forest - feel free to blaspheme away. I always do just not in print. Don’t want someone to use it again me down the road, if ya know what I mean.
I saw something on Animal Planet (Most Extreme, maybe?) once about a parasite that is ingested by a snail. It literally burrows into the snail’s brain, and you can see it manfest as rainbow-like colors. The parasite then makes the snail climb to the top of a tree, and perch itself on the end of a branch. From there, the snail gets eaten by a bird, and the parasite passes through the digestive system to be redeposited somewhere else in the bird’s droppings, where it will get eaten by another snail. Cycle of life at its most well designed.
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