Emerald Jewel Wasp (Pjt56 --- If you use the picture outside Wikipedia I would appreciate a short e-).
The Surgical Mind Control Strike
The emerald jewel wasp (Ampulex compressa) is renowned for its metallic blue-green exoskeleton and its chillingly sophisticated hunting method.
Targeting cockroaches up to six times its own size, the female wasp delivers a rapid two-step sting. The first sting targets the thorax, temporarily paralyzing the cockroach’s front legs. With the host immobilized, the wasp delivers a second, ultra-precise sting directly through the insect’s neck into its subesophageal ganglion, the neural center controlling the escape reflex.
Leading the Living Zombie
The neurotoxin blocks the neurotransmitter octopamine in the cockroach’s brain. The host is not paralyzed, but completely stripped of its survival instinct and free will.
The wasp snaps off half of the cockroach’s antennae to drink its hemolymph, then takes the stump in its mandibles and calmly leads the passive zombie host across the ground into an underground burrow like a dog on a leash.
The Living Incubator
Once inside the burrow, the wasp glues a single egg to the cockroach’s leg and seals the entrance with pebbles.
When the larva hatches, it bores into the cockroach’s abdomen and begins eating its non-essential fat bodies, keeping the host alive for days to preserve freshness before consuming the heart and spinning a cocoon inside the hollowed shell.
