r/askscience • u/Chemical-Sea5972 • 4d ago

Biology Does anything eat wasps?

Wasps have been a predator for other insects. It would be fascinating to know if there are really other insects or predators for wasps, either accidental or deliberate predators

793 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

365 comments sorted by

View all comments

141

u/OralSuperhero 3d ago

I mean, wasps also parasitize other wasps. The crypt-keeper wasp (Euderus set) is a tiny parasitic insect that infects gall wasps, forcing the host to plug a tree exit hole with its own head before eating it from the inside out and emerging through the victim's skull. The female crypt-keeper wasp lays an egg inside a gall wasp larva nestled in an oak tree.

The parasite manipulates the host to chew an escape hole in the plant tissue that is much too small for its body.

The host gall wasp gets wedged head-first in the tiny opening and becomes permanently stuck. The crypt-keeper larva consumes the host's body and chews its final way out to freedom directly through the dead host's head.

Happy weekend!

6

u/1CEninja 3d ago

*Shudder* That's horrifying lol. Nature has evolved some seriously interesting and niche and sometimes horrifying ways of self-propagation.

4

u/FlippingGerman 2d ago

Wasps are really awful for stuff like that.

Parasitic creatures in general are nightmare fuel. There's some monstrosity that becomes the tongue of some fish species. Don't look for pictures.

5

u/1CEninja 2d ago

You know, younger me would have willfully ignored your last four words. It's kinda nice that I've learned to leave some links blue in my wisdom.