« Jack's School Plan for 2011-2012 | Main | Crested Africa Rat Makes Deadly Poison »
Wasps Turn Ladybugs into Protective Warriors
There is a parasitic wasp that will paralyze a ladybug and then inject her with a single egg. The egg hatches and the larva chews its way out of the abdomen (and now we know where the idea of Alien came from). The larva creates a cocoon between the ladybug's legs and continues its metamorphosis. Sometimes the ladybug survives and then the larva is able to 'brainwash' the ladybug into defending it from predators!
Be sure to visit National Geographic for more pictures of this process!
