Emerald cockroach wasp (Ampulex compressa), with cockroach in tow
I had to be quick to photograph this beautiful wasp. Incidentally, the cockroach looks a bit different from the usual one in our garden. Perhaps it is merely a more juvenile instar (it is smaller) but it doesn’t have prominent wings. At night, the garden is alive with their continual rustling among the leaf litter.
It was only discovered recently exactly how this wasp renders its prey so tractable, with two precise stings, one to the thoracic ganglia and another to the “brain”, neither of which paralyse it but only alters the roach’s behaviour. Only!
The unfortunate roach has a further 12 days or so to live in this state as it is eaten from the inside by the wasp larva.
Emerald cockroach wasp, or Jewel wasp, (Ampulex compressa)
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June 23, 2011 at 8:04 pm |
I am a research support staff at the University of Hawaii. We are assisting in compiling an article for a Hawaii Landscape newsletter covering beneficial insects. The “magazine” formatted publication is circulated to members of the Landscape Industry Council of Hawaii Can we use one of your photos of Ampulex compressa and a cockroach prey for this educational purpose? If so, please let me know how you would like the photo credit to read. I will be happy to provide more information through e-mail correspondence. Thank you for your time and consideration.