Zombie spiders enslaved by wasps are real

The study looked at the Reclinervellus nielseni wasp and the way it used and abused the Cyclosa argenteoalba spider – taking control of its mind and body to essentially make it build the nursery and become the pantry for the infant wasp.

The findings reveal a bit more about this wasp and show how it can control a host spider into providing a safe location for its young. When the egg hatches, the wasp larva feeds itself by sucking on the spider’s hemolymph – the insect equivalent of blood. While the normal spider webs are quite hardy, these wasp-inspired webs are 2.7-4 times stronger than the normal ones, though they are not as effective at catching food.

In order to learn a bit more about the effects that these parasitic wasps, Reclinervellus nielseni, have on their victims, the researchers collected spiders complete with their webs and parasitic larvae.

Impossible as it may seem, the wasp managed to complete this task by laying eggs inside the spider. As they grow bigger the spider grows weaker and ultimately dies.

However, there are a couple of key, significant differences between the two types of webs that the spiders construct, according to the Smithsonian. The team observed that the intricate web designs were in no way related to the usual behavior of spiders.

Dr Takasuka suspects the larva injects a substance similar to a moulting hormone during the later stages of its stay – close to the time when it is ready to pupate. Takasuka and his colleagues believe that this manipulative compound causes a chemical reaction from within the endocrine system of the spiders, resulting in their unusual and hyperactive behavior of web-building.

The researchers noted that, although the webs and cocoons normally built by the spiders were similar to those that the zombie spiders constructed, there were key differences between them. By watching the work, he also found that controlled spiders always built the new cocoon webs on the site of the old orb ones, removing the sticky spiral first, then reinforcing it and adding the decorations.

To find out how this zombie manipulation is happening, the researchers observed more the 1600 spiders-Cyclosa argenteoalba-near the villages of Tamba and Sasayama in south-central Japan. So, when the larva’s done growing, it manipulates the spider into making a special type of web. The parasitic wasps studied by the Japanese researchers in Australia and Japan had found a way to hijack their hosts and make the spiders accomplices in their own ultimate doom.