our parasitized caterpillar has spent
the last 12 days gorging itself it now
appears profoundly obese but this is not
all fat the glamour otter wasp larvae
lie just under its skin each is the size
of a grain of rice but together they
account for over a third of the
caterpillars weight the larvae have not
yet finished growing and need to keep
their hosts alive so although they feast
on the caterpillars blood they have been
careful not to touch a single one of its
vital organs
this uneasy truce will not last within
days the larvae are fully matured
suddenly they begin to stir into action
for the past two weeks this surrogate
womb has protected them but now they no
longer need it to complete the next
stage of their lifecycle
they must break out the caterpillars
thick skin should be a solid barrier to
the parasitic wasp larvae but as their
bodies have grown they have developed
tiny saw-like teeth these jagged jaws
are for one job only cutting their way
out
stroke by stroke the larvas slice
through the tough layers of skin
at the same time they release chemicals
that paralyze the caterpillar
as the larvae break through there is
nothing you can do
free at last the larvae enter a new
phase of development they swiftly spin
silken cocoons these will provide the
perfect environment for their final
transformation but ironically one of the
greatest dangers the larvae will face is
being themselves impregnated by other
species of parasitic wasp incredibly the
wounded caterpillar helps them out
usually a caterpillar would spin a
silken blanket to make its own cocoon
but the parasitized caterpillar spins
his blanket on top of the wasp cocoons
giving them an extra layer of protection
scientists believe the same wasp virus
that infected it weeks before has now
invaded the caterpillars brain and
caused this bizarre corruption of its
normal behavior amazingly the
caterpillars natural aggression is now
also exploited by the wasp virus
the caterpillar becomes a bodyguard
actively protecting the cocoons
from other parasites it will watch over
them unceasingly until it eventually
starves to death
the last 12 days gorging itself it now
appears profoundly obese but this is not
all fat the glamour otter wasp larvae
lie just under its skin each is the size
of a grain of rice but together they
account for over a third of the
caterpillars weight the larvae have not
yet finished growing and need to keep
their hosts alive so although they feast
on the caterpillars blood they have been
careful not to touch a single one of its
vital organs
this uneasy truce will not last within
days the larvae are fully matured
suddenly they begin to stir into action
for the past two weeks this surrogate
womb has protected them but now they no
longer need it to complete the next
stage of their lifecycle
they must break out the caterpillars
thick skin should be a solid barrier to
the parasitic wasp larvae but as their
bodies have grown they have developed
tiny saw-like teeth these jagged jaws
are for one job only cutting their way
out
stroke by stroke the larvas slice
through the tough layers of skin
at the same time they release chemicals
that paralyze the caterpillar
as the larvae break through there is
nothing you can do
free at last the larvae enter a new
phase of development they swiftly spin
silken cocoons these will provide the
perfect environment for their final
transformation but ironically one of the
greatest dangers the larvae will face is
being themselves impregnated by other
species of parasitic wasp incredibly the
wounded caterpillar helps them out
usually a caterpillar would spin a
silken blanket to make its own cocoon
but the parasitized caterpillar spins
his blanket on top of the wasp cocoons
giving them an extra layer of protection
scientists believe the same wasp virus
that infected it weeks before has now
invaded the caterpillars brain and
caused this bizarre corruption of its
normal behavior amazingly the
caterpillars natural aggression is now
also exploited by the wasp virus
the caterpillar becomes a bodyguard
actively protecting the cocoons
from other parasites it will watch over
them unceasingly until it eventually
starves to death
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