Zombie Spiders

[ysabetwordsmith]

Parasitic wasps turn spiders into zombies.  O_O 

Since the wasp larvae are external parasites, there are two obvious evolutionary solutions to this problem.  One is open to any victim: pick off the egg or larva and destroy it.  But the other is open only to social  spiders, which the wasps target: grooming each other  to remove parasites.  The wasps would then have to respond.  It will be very interesting to see how this plays out.

Comments

[alatefeline]

Meep! Nature is always terrifying. The human capacity to be bored ever is an astounding thing.

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Natural observation is what I turn to when humans are boring or exasperating.

Re: Yes ...

[zeeth_kyrah]

I learned more about human nature by watching animals and comparing human behavior than I did watching humans on their own. Society and mental complexity obscures the innate, hiding it behind layers of indirection, but the instincts are still there.