Cockroach Wasp

Description:

These primitive sphecoid wasps occur principally in the tropics of the Old and New Worlds. Appropriately, they prey upon cockroaches. This is how the female cockroach wasp hunts: The first strike paralyzes the roach’s front legs. While the roach is mostly immobilized, the wasp stings again, this time targeting a bundle of nerves called the sub-esophogeal ganglion. The venom kills the roach’s escape reflex, making it a compliant victim. Cockroach Wasp venom also seems to slow the roach’s metabolism enough that it will be able to survive a week or more without eating—and still be full of nutrients for what lies ahead. At last, the cockroach wasp drags her living but immobile prey back to her burrow. In the burrow, the wasp lays an egg on the roach’s abdomen. When it hatches two or three days later, the larva chews its way into the roach’s abdomen and spends the next week eating the paralyzed roach from the inside out. Cockroach wasp larvae seem to instinctively eat the less vital organs first, keeping their hosts alive as long as possible.

Habitat:

Seen at a small farm near a river.