Terrifying parasitic wasp in the Amazon transforms spiders into zombie-like drones

Scientists exploring the Ecuadorian Amazon have discovered a new species of parasitic wasp that turns its victims into zombies. In what the researchers say is a particularly'hardcore' form of hijacking, these wasps first make normally social spiders turn their backs on their own colonies, before spinning a cocoon for the larvae that will eventually eat it. The gruesome attack stands out from most other known instances of wasp parasitism, being unusual in that it does not target a solitary spider species, as is usually the case. In what the researchers say is a particularly'hardcore' form of hijacking, these wasps first make normally social spiders turn their backs on their own colonies, before spinning a cocoon for the larvae that will eventually eat it'Wasps manipulating the behaviour of spiders has been observed before, but not at a level as complex as this,' said Philippe Fernandez-Fournier, lead author of the study and former master's student at UBC's department of zoology. 'Not only is this wasp targeting a social species of spider but it's making it leave its colony, which it rarely does.'