---
title: "What the sources say about the Emerald Cockroach Wasp | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "62 claims from the Emerald Cockroach Wasp profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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---

# What the sources say about the Emerald Cockroach Wasp (*Ampulex compressa*)

> 62 claims from the Emerald Cockroach Wasp profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Emerald Cockroach Wasp](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/emerald-cockroach-wasp/)

## Arvidson et al. (2018). Life History of the Emerald Jewel Wasp Ampulex compressa. Journal of Hymenoptera Research.

https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.63.21762

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| then walks it by the antenna into a burrow where its larva eats it alive | The cockroach remains alive throughout the first two larval instars and many hours into the third as its organs are consumed selectively |
| Adult females sip cockroach hemolymph | then commences to drink hemolymph, using the antennal stumps as straws |
| and lab adults are fed honey | Ampulex compressa adults were reared in 2 ft 3 plexiglass cages and provided with honey and water ad libitum |
| each larva feeds on one living American cockroach, first outside it, then inside | lay a single egg on a mesothoracic leg of the host |
| each larva feeds on one living American cockroach, first outside it, then inside | the cockroach remains alive throughout the first two larval instars and many hours into the third as its organs are consumed selectively |
| It stings twice. | The attack is characterized by two stings |
| The second sting goes into the head, aimed at the brain and at a cluster of nerve cells called the sub-esophageal ganglion. | followed by a sting into the head cavity, targeting both the subesopha ... geal ganglion and brain |
| Sensors on the stinger help it feel its way to the target. | the wasp is able to sense the location of cephalic ganglia through ... inputs from the stinger |
| then turns hypokinetic, which means it hardly starts walking on its own, for days. | Envenomation of head ganglia induces long-term (7–10 days) behavioral changes characterized by increased escape threshold, decreased escape distance, and decreased spontaneous walking (note: other sources give 3-7 days (Gal & Libersat) and 2-5 weeks (Haspel); body says only 'days') |
| The wasp clips the cockroach's antennae with buzzsaw actions of its jaws, drinks hemolymph (insect blood) through the stumps like straws, then grabs the stumps and leads the cockroach into its burrow. | the wasp clips the antennae at precise locations with buzzsaw actions of its mandibles, then commences to drink hemolymph, using the antennal stumps as straws |
| then grabs the stumps and leads the cockroach into its burrow | The wasp leads the stung cockroach into its ... by grasping the truncated antennae |
| In the burrow, the wasp lays a single egg on the cockroach's middle leg and seals the entrance with debris. | proceeds to lay a single egg on a mesothoracic leg of the host, then entombs it by sealing the burrow entrance with miscellaneous debris |
| In a lab colony kept at 28 °C, the egg hatched within three days. | The first instar hatches within 3 days of oviposition |
| The larva starts outside the cockroach, drinking hemolymph. | The first instar larva pierces the soft cockroach cuticle near the base of the leg to feed on hemolymph |
| Then it moves inside. | At the end of the second instar, the larva enters the body cavity of the still-living cockroach |
| It grows through three stages, and in the same study the third stage, the one inside, averaged 28.4 millimetres long. | 3 28.4 ± 7.27 8.79 ± 2.06 1181 ± 104 885 ± 64 (note: third-instar larval body length, Table 1 (mm), n = 13) |
| Inside, it eats fat and muscle first and spares the gut. | the third instar larva consumes all fat body and muscle within its reach |
| Inside, it eats fat and muscle first and spares the gut. | consuming internal tissues selectively, including fat body and skeletal muscle, but sparing the gut and Malpighian tubules |
| The central nervous system is the final meal. | The final “meal” was the central nervous system |
| and the host dries out without rotting. | Eventually the host desiccates without rotting |
| Then the larva spins a silk cocoon inside the husk, and one study suggests the cocoon is its armour. | the wasp spins a cocoon and pupates inside the cockroach |
| Females are larger than males | since females are larger than males |
| and only females make venom. | as only females produce venom |
| Yes, for a while. It lives through the first two larval stages and for many hours into the third. | The cockroach remains alive throughout the first two larval instars and many hours into the third as its organs are consumed selectively |
| The larva eats selectively, taking fat and muscle and leaving the gut. | consuming internal tissues selectively, including fat body and skeletal muscle, but sparing the gut and Malpighian tubules |
| each larva feeds on one living American cockroach, first outside it, then inside | the first two ectoparasitoid, and the third exclusively endoparasitoid |
| In a lab colony kept at 28 °C, the egg hatched within three days. | All insects were maintained at 28 °C and ~50% humidity |
| It grows through three stages, and in the same study the third stage, the one inside, averaged 28.4 millimetres long. | we found that the larvae develop through three instars, the first two ectoparasitoid, and the third exclusively endoparasitoid |

## Gal & Libersat (2010). A Wasp Manipulates Neuronal Activity in the Sub-Esophageal Ganglion to Decrease the Drive for Walking in Its Cockroach Prey. PLoS ONE.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0010019

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The wasp that stings a cockroach in the brain | The wasp stings the cockroach in the head and delivers a cocktail of neurotoxins directly inside the prey's cerebral ganglia |
| then walks it by the antenna into a burrow where its larva eats it alive | allowing the wasp to grab its prey by the antenna and lead it to a nest |
| A sting aimed at the cockroach's brain that switches off its urge to walk | By injecting a venom cocktail directly into the SEG, the parasitoid Jewel Wasp selectively manipulates the cockroach's motivation to initiate walking |
| A female emerald cockroach wasp hunts American cockroaches, and it does not kill them. It hijacks them. | The adult female wasp hunts cockroaches ( Periplaneta americana ) for use as a live food supply for its offspring. Since development of the wasp's larva requires feeding on live cockroaches for several days [ 11 ] , the adult wasp does not kill or paralyze the cockroach prey |
| When scientists removed that ganglion before a wasp stung, the sting lasted five times longer, which suggests the wasp actively targets it. | Surgically removing the cockroach SEG prior to wasp stinging prolongs the duration of the sting 5-fold, suggesting that the wasp actively targets the SEG during the stinging sequence |
| The venom does not paralyze the cockroach. It switches off the urge to walk. | Although not paralyzed, the stung cockroach becomes a living yet docile ‘zombie’, incapable of self-initiating spontaneous or evoked walking |
| The roach grooms itself for about 30 minutes | A cockroach stung by a Jewel Wasp first grooms itself excessively for 30 minutes |
| The venom goes into a small region of the cockroach's head nervous system, the sub-esophageal ganglion, which normally helps push the insect to start walking. | decreased neuronal activity in a small region of the cockroach cerebral nervous system, the sub-esophageal ganglion (SEG). A decrease in descending permissive inputs from this ganglion to thoracic central pattern generators decreases the propensity for walking-related behaviors |
| Its activity drops, and the cockroach stops starting walks on its own. | spontaneous and evoked neuronal spiking activity in the SEG, recorded with an extracellular bipolar microelectrode, is markedly decreased in stung cockroaches versus non-stung controls |
| It can still move, and the wasp grabs an antenna and leads it away. | The stung cockroach is not, however, paralyzed, allowing the wasp to grab its prey by the antenna and lead it to a nest |
| Adult females sip cockroach hemolymph | The adult female wasp hunts cockroaches |
| then turns hypokinetic, which means it hardly starts walking on its own, for days. | then becomes hypokinetic for 3–7 days, during which time it loses the ability to self-initiate and maintain walking-related behaviors (note: the three sources give 3-7 days (Gal & Libersat), 7-10 days (Arvidson) and 2-5 weeks (Haspel abstract); the body says only 'for days') |
| The venom goes into a small region of the cockroach's head nervous system, the sub-esophageal ganglion, which normally helps push the insect to start walking. | By injecting a venom cocktail directly into the SEG |
| Zombie on a leash | much like a submissive dog on a leash |
| The wasp injects venom straight into the cockroach's head ganglia | The wasp stings the cockroach in the head and delivers a cocktail of neurotoxins directly inside the prey's cerebral ganglia |
| the cockroach is not paralyzed but stops starting walks on its own, so the wasp can lead it by the antenna | The stung cockroach is not, however, paralyzed, allowing the wasp to grab its prey by the antenna and lead it to a nest |

## Herzner et al. (2013). Larvae of the parasitoid wasp Ampulex compressa sanitize their host, the American cockroach, with a blend of antimicrobials. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1213384110

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The larva also coats its host from the inside with a blend of antimicrobial chemicals | A. compressa larvae impregnate their cockroach hosts from inside with large amounts of an oral secretion containing a blend of γ-lactones and isocoumarins |
| From inside the cockroach, the larva coats the host with an oral secretion rich in lactones and isocoumarins, two kinds of antimicrobial chemicals. | A. compressa larvae impregnate their cockroach hosts from inside with large amounts of an oral secretion containing a blend of γ-lactones and isocoumarins |
| In lab tests the mix held back the growth of both bacteria tried | The test fraction inhibited growth of both tested bacteria. |
| The larva also coats its host from the inside with a blend of antimicrobial chemicals | the specific combination of antimicrobials in the larval secretion |
| which suggests it shields the larva from microbes it may meet inside its host | Our data suggest that the specific combination of antimicrobials in the larval secretion provides an effective frontline defense against the unpredictable spectrum of microbes that A. compressa larvae may encounter during their development inside their cockroach hosts |

## Haspel & Libersat (2003). Wasp venom blocks central cholinergic synapses to induce transient paralysis in cockroach prey. Journal of Neurobiology.

https://doi.org/10.1002/neu.10195

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The first sting goes into the thorax, the middle section of the body, and paralyzes the front legs for 2 to 3 minutes. | It stings into the first thoracic segment inducing 2 to 3 min of transient flaccid paralysis of the front legs |
| That makes the second sting easier. | This facilitates a second sting in the cockroach's head |

## Catania (2024). The Cocoon of the Developing Emerald Jewel Wasp (Ampulex compressa) Resists Cannibalistic Predation of the Zombified Host. Brain, Behavior and Evolution.

https://doi.org/10.1159/000540971

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In its lab tests, hungry young cockroaches killed the developing wasp on days 0 to 8. | When parasitized cockroaches were exposed to hungry cockroaches on days 0–8 of development, the developing larva was killed. |
| On day 10, 90% of the larvae survived. | on day 10, 90% of the larvae survived |
| Survival depended entirely on whether the cocoon was finished. | Survival depended entirely on whether the cocoon had been completed. |
| The adult breaks out of the cocoon and the husk about 1 to 2 months after the egg is laid, depending on sex and temperature. | After a total time of approximately 1–2 months, depending on sex and temperature |
| Then the larva spins a silk cocoon inside the husk, and one study suggests the cocoon is its armour. | the larva begins to form a cocoon within the hollowed-out husk of the now-dead cockroach |
| Then the larva spins a silk cocoon inside the husk, and one study suggests the cocoon is its armour. | suggest the cocoon defends from insect mandibles |

## Ampulex compressa (TSN 154312). Integrated Taxonomic Information System.

https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=154312

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Not Evaluated | Ampulex compressa TSN 154312 (note: note: no Red List assessment exists; GBIF and Crossref both returned none (checked 2026-10-05 by the orchestrator)) |
| Africa, southern Asia, Australia and Oceania, and Hawaii, where it was introduced | Geographic Division: Africa Australia Oceania Southern Asia Jurisdiction/Origin: Hawaii, Introduced |
| The Integrated Taxonomic Information System lists the wasp in Africa, southern Asia, Australia and Oceania, and records it as introduced to Hawaii. | Geographic Division: Africa Australia Oceania Southern Asia Jurisdiction/Origin: Hawaii, Introduced |

## Olivia Barney (2026). The Zombie Wasp's Link to Parkinson's Research. Natural History Museum of Utah.

https://nhmu.utah.edu/articles/zombie-wasps-link-parkinsons-research

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| tags: iridescent | this slender, brightly colored animal is mesmerizing in all its metallic glory |
| dangerLevel: Low | Jewel wasp venom is a key that only works on the cockroaches it preys upon. Other people and pets don’t have to worry about becoming zombified. But if the venom isn’t a danger to anything other than the cockroach |