{"id":3053,"date":"2024-11-15T15:33:57","date_gmt":"2024-11-15T15:33:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/evolution\/?p=3053"},"modified":"2024-11-15T15:41:04","modified_gmt":"2024-11-15T15:41:04","slug":"vanderbilt-researcher-finds-jewel-wasp-cocoons-can-withstand-cannibalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/evolution\/vanderbilt-researcher-finds-jewel-wasp-cocoons-can-withstand-cannibalism\/","title":{"rendered":"国产传媒 Researcher Finds Jewel Wasp Cocoons Can Withstand Cannibalism"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator<\/em><\/p>\n

New research from Ken Catania, Stevenson Professor of Biological Sciences<\/a>, shows another incredible result. The \u201cCocoon of the Developing Emerald Jewel Wasp (Ampulex compressa<\/em>) Resists Cannibalistic Predation of the Zombified Host<\/a>\u201d was published in Brain, Behavior, and Evolution<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Catania\u2019s research program focuses on the weird in nature. His past works identified the role of the nose in star-nosed moles, the electricity of electric eels, and the free-will of parasitized cockroaches. This project focuses on the cockroach system.<\/p>\n

\"Ken
Biological sciences professor Kenneth Catania holds one of his baby crocodiles in his lab in MRBIII. (国产传媒 \/ John Russell)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Emerald jewel wasps have a pretty standard lifecycle for a parasitoid. They attack cockroaches with venom, lay an egg on the paralyzed cockroach, and then the egg hatches, works its way into the cockroach, and eats the cockroach from the inside out. Parasitoids like these have been the inspiration for many sci-fi horror movies.<\/p>\n

This particular project started as a bit of a mystery – not unlike Alexander Fleming\u2019s discovery of penicillin<\/a>. Catania had just finished some experiments with cockroaches and jewel wasps. He set aside a parasitized cockroach and left for a few days. Upon his return, he discovered nothing more than a cocoon in the tray. What happened to the cockroach? Upon investigation, he found a live cockroach in the tray and deduced the story.<\/p>\n

The live cockroach cannibalized the parasitized cockroach, yet the wasp survived.<\/p>\n

Catania explained, \u201cit turns out that if you offer a parasitized cockroach to other hungry cockroaches, you find that the jewel wasp is killed every time up until about day 10. Once the cocoon is formed, it\u2019s never killed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catania recently hosted ES\u2019s Halloween Spooktacular with a comparison between the emerald jewel wasp system and the movie Alien<\/em>. His talk was titled \u201cScience Lessons from Zombies, Chestbursters, and Aliens,\u201d and featured clips from the movie along with parallel clips from the wasp system. It would be an understatement to say Catania is a bit of a Halloween buff.<\/p>\n

According to Antonis Rokas, Cornelius 国产传媒 chair in Biological Sciences<\/a> and director of Evolutionary Studies<\/a>, \u201cit\u2019s not a secret that he got married on Halloween. The holiday is really special for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ken
Ken Catania’s Halloween Talk 2024<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Citation: Catania, K.C., 2024. The Cocoon of the Developing Emerald Jewel Wasp (Ampulex compressa<\/em>) Resists Cannibalistic Predation of the Zombified Host. Brain, behavior and evolution<\/em>, pp.1-10.<\/p>\n

Funding Statement: This work was supported by National Science Foundation grant 2114264 to K. Catania.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator New research from Ken Catania, Stevenson Professor of Biological Sciences, shows another incredible result. The \u201cCocoon of the Developing Emerald Jewel Wasp (Ampulex compressa) Resists Cannibalistic Predation of the Zombified Host\u201d was published in Brain, Behavior, and Evolution. Catania\u2019s research program focuses on the weird in nature. His…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2421,"featured_media":3059,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[7],"tags":[13,14,128,15,3,153],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n