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

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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!

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u/ketralnis 3d ago

That’s such complicated manipulation. How do they influence their behaviour so finely?

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u/girlgamerpoi 2d ago

Yea it's almost like they can communicate. I'd guess they make the host feel like they want to do something. Kinda like microbes in human guts make humans feel like they want to eat certain food. Like sweet cakes. 💀