University of Iowa Professor Andrew Forbes has co-authored a paper on a new parasitic wasp species: Euderus set, otherwise known as the crypt-keeper wasp. Scientists found the crypt-keeper wasp manipulates its prey to chew a hole for its exit that is smaller than it would need to escape. Once the hole is created, the crypt-keeper wasp eats its way through the host. The wasp is named after the ancient Egyptian god of evil, Set.
Read the detailed findings of the study online in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The study, authored by Kelly L. Weinersmith, Sean M. Liu, and Scott P. Egan (all of Rice University) and Forbes, was published Jan. 24.
Read media coverage of the study from the following news outlets:
- National Geographic New crypt-keeper wasp is parasite that bursts from host's head
- Science Crypt keeper wasp is a parasite of a parasite
- The Atlantic The parasite that compels other parasites to shove their heads into holes
- Popular Science This parasitic wasp forces other parasitic wasps to do its dirty work, then eats them
- Live Science "Crypt-keeper wasp" turns its host into a self-sacrificing zombie
- Pulse Headlines Crypt-keeper wasps named after the Egyptian God of evil and chaos
Forbes is an evolutionary biologist and an associate professor in the Department of Biology, part of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.