Posted by (4)
Talk about a helicopter parent—a newfound species of wasp rides on the back of a bigger flying insect to help its offspring, a new study says.
The newfound wasp clings to the back of a damselfly. Image courtesy Andrew Polaszek, Natural History Museum
Named Hydrophylita emporos—emporos is Latin for “passenger”—the female wasps were observed clinging to abdomens of damselflies, an aquatic insect related to a dragonfly. This acrobatic feat eventually pays off: When the damselfly starts laying its eggs on a submerged leaf, the wasp walks down the abdomen of the damselfly like it’s an exit ramp, enters the water, and then lays its own eggs in the damselflies’ eggs. (See “‘Zombie’ Roaches Lose Free Will Due to Wasp Venom.”)
