Natures wonders: wasps and zombie spiders (Introduction)

by David Turell @, Friday, August 07, 2015, 14:00 (3147 days ago) @ David Turell

Put your larvae on a spider, have him weave a cocoon for you and be the food source. The perfect total protection plan:-http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/08/06/these-parasitic-wasps-turn-spiders-into-web-building-zombies/?wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1-"The zombie enslavement begins when a wasp lays eggs on the back of a spider. The resulting larva feeds off of the living spider's body fluid. About 10 days after hatching, the larva essentially turns the spider into a zombie that constructs a tough cocoon web to protect the baby wasp as it matures.-"These cocoon webs were found to be similar to the resting webs but stronger; the periphery of the cocoon web is three times stronger and the center is 30 times stronger. They also had decorative elements that reflect light, presumably to deter flying creatures from getting caught up in the web."-Comment: How to explain this arrangement in Darwin terms? I can't.


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