The other day, I was in Safeway—buying Diet Dr Pepper, naturally—when I heard the guy up ahead of me say something to his friends that I was positive I must have misheard. Specifically, what I heard him say was "and there's this really awesome parasitic wasp that drives its victims like cars." Now, I like parasitic wasps. I am, one might say, unduly fascinated by parasitic wasps. So I tend to assume that when I hear other people bring them up in conversation, I'm hearing them wrong.
I began shamelessly eavesdropping...and wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, he was talking about insect parasitism! Yay! As the conversation swung toward blood flukes, I interjected to note that blood flukes were probably largely responsible for the evolution of gendered reproduction. He looked, in a word, delighted.
What followed was the largest, rowdiest, happiest discussion of parasite behavior I have ever been involved with outside of a group of my friends. All five of the people involved had read Parasite Rex, and parthenogentic reproduction came up, gleefully.
I think I may have met my male equivalent from a nearby parallel dimension.
If it's the same type of parasitic wasp that I've read about, it will insert a larva on the spider, where it will grow and feed (WHILE THE SPIDER IS STILL ALIVE). The spider will go about it's normal fly catching business until one day the wasp larva will send MIND DIRECTIONS directly to the spiders brain. The spider will then find two plant limbs where it will spin a super thick cable, crawl out to the middle of the cable, and hang there where the larva will finish eating it.
It is one of the first true cases I had learned about where an animal took over the mind and body of another animal and then ate it.
geeky
June 30 2010, 16:54:12 UTC 7 years ago
It is one of the first true cases I had learned about where an animal took over the mind and body of another animal and then ate it.
July 1 2010, 04:16:17 UTC 7 years ago
July 1 2010, 05:39:50 UTC 7 years ago
I do not share Seanan's fascination with parasites. *Shudders*
July 1 2010, 18:02:47 UTC 7 years ago