| Cockroach wasps | |
|---|---|
| Ampulex wasp | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Suborder: | Apocrita |
| Superfamily: | Apoidea |
| Family: | Ampulicidae |
| Genera | |
|
Ampulex |
|
The Ampulicidae, or Cockroach wasps, is a small (approx. 200 species), primarily tropical group of sphecoid wasps, all of which use various cockroaches as prey items for their larvae. They tend to have elongated jaws, a pronounced neck-like constriction behind the head, a strongly petiolate abdomen, and deep grooves on the thorax. Many are quite ant-like in appearance, though some are brilliant metallic blue or green.
Most species sting the roach more than once and in a specific way. The first sting is directed at nerve ganglions in the cockroach's thorax, temporarily paralyzing the victim for 2–5 minutes - more than enough time for the wasp to deliver a second sting. The second sting is directed into a region of the cockroach's brain that controls the escape reflex among other things.[1] When the cockroach has recovered from the first sting, it makes no attempt to flee. The wasp clips the antenna with its mandibles and drinks some of the haemolymph before walking backwards and dragging the roach by its clipped antenna to a burrow, where an egg will be laid upon it. The wasp larva feeds on the subdued, living cockroach.