This wasp can turn cockroaches into ‘zombies.’

With such a whimsical-sounding name as “jewel wasp,” you wouldn’t expect this creature to be so sinister. Found in tropical parts of Africa and Asia, the female wasp first stings the cockroach in the thorax, temporarily disabling its front legs, then delivers a second sting directly into its brain.

The venom doesn’t simply paralyze the roach. Instead, it changes activity in parts of its nervous system, leaving the cockroach alive but surprisingly docile, with little motivation to escape. The wasp then leads the roach by the antennae into a nest, where she lays an egg on the cockroach. The unfortunate roach remains alive as the wasp larva develops, eventually becoming its food.