I collect tales of parasites the way some people collect Star Trek plates. And having filled an entire book with them, I thought I had pretty much collected the whole set. But until now I had somehow ...

Imagine a predator that doesn’t just kill its prey, but performs a high-stakes “brain surgery” to turn it into a willing servant. Meet the jewel wasp (Ampulex compressa), a shimmering, emerald-hued ...

Zombie insects might sound like the B-movie plot device. But to the emerald cockroach wasp (Ampulex compressa ), they’re a tried and tested way to provide food for their hungry larvae. Researchers ...

After being stung by a parasitic wasp, the American cockroach loses control of its behavior, becoming host to the wasp's egg. Days later, the hatchling consumes the cockroach alive. While this is a ...

But until now I had somehow missed the gruesome glory that is a wasp named Ampulex compressa. As an adult, Ampulex compressa seems like your normal wasp, buzzing about and mating. But things get weird ...