Parasitism: Wasp uses ladybug as 'zombie bodyguard'
Monday, July 18, 2011 - 10:30
in Biology & Nature
The parasitic wasp Dinocampus coccinellae is no fool. It controls a ladybug, lays an egg in its abdomen and turns it into the bodyguard of its cocoon. This surprising host-parasite manipulation has been closely observed in new research.