Jewel wasps carve up cockroaches like jack-o’-lanterns in a way scientists have never seen before. By Jason Bittel If you loathe cockroaches, you’re going to love the emerald jewel wasp. Females of ...

Imagine a predator that doesn’t just kill its prey, but performs a high-stakes “brain surgery” to turn it into a willing servant. Meet the jewel wasp (Ampulex compressa), a shimmering, emerald-hued ...

A researcher at Vanderbilt University may have found out how American cockroaches can avoid their own “zombie apocalypse.” Ken Catania, a biologist and professor at the school, videotaped interactions ...

Real-life fights against zombie-makers offer plenty of tips for avoiding undeath. Just ask cockroaches, targets of the emerald jewel wasp. The female wasps (Ampulex compressa) specialize in attacking ...

If you ever want to witness just how horrifyingly "red in tooth and claw" nature can be, you only have to look to the emerald jewel wasp. The female of the species is known for stinging unsuspecting ...

Reprinted by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Adapted from How Earth’s Deadliest Creatures Mastered Biochemistry, by Christie Wilcox. Copyright © 2016 by ...

A rare wasp that uses its venom to control the mental activity of a cockroach — sending the bug into a zombie-like state — might hold the key to understanding what happens in the brains of people with ...

The jewel wasp is known for a parasitic life cycle that relies entirely on cockroaches. After manipulating its host, the wasp lays eggs that develop internally over time. Scientists say this process ...

Kung Fu cockroaches may hold a key to salvation during the zombie apocalypse. Just look to their impressive defensive maneuvers. Vanderbilt University biologist Ken Catania in a new report shows ...

It’s like a horror movie come to life. In a new study, biologists say there’s a certain type of wasp, called the emerald jewel wasp, that has a peculiar way of making sure its young have a head start ...

A cockroach has been filmed karate kicking a parasitic wasp to save itself from becoming a zombie. Ken Catania, a biologist at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, was studying the interactions between ...