Mind control wasp facts for kids

Hymenoepimecis argyraphaga is a special kind of wasp found in Costa Rica. It's called a parasitoid because it lives on and uses another creature. In this case, its host is a spider named Plesiometa argyra. This amazing wasp can actually change how the spider builds its web! It makes the spider create a super strong web. This strong web helps protect the wasp's cocoon from bad weather like rain.

Life Cycle of the Wasp

First, a female Hymenoepimecis argyraphaga wasp finds a Plesiometa argyra spider. She temporarily makes the spider unable to move, or paralyzes it. Then, she lays a tiny egg on the spider's abdomen (its back part).

The egg soon hatches into a small larva (a baby wasp). This larva attaches itself to the spider. It drinks the spider's blood through tiny holes. Even with the larva on it, the spider keeps building its normal webs. It also continues to catch insects as usual.

When the larva is ready to change into a pupa (the next stage), something incredible happens. The larva injects a special chemical into the spider. This chemical makes the spider build a completely different type of web. It's a design the spider has never made before! After building this strange web, the spider sits very still in the middle of it.

Next, the wasp larva sheds its skin, a process called moulting. Then, it kills the spider using a poison. The larva drinks all the spider's body fluids, leaving only a dry shell. It then builds its own cocoon. This cocoon hangs safely from the middle of the special web the spider just built. The larva changes into a pupa inside this cocoon. Finally, an adult wasp emerges from the cocoon. It will then find a mate and start the whole cycle again.