Real Life Aliens: Parasitoid Wasps | Not Your Average Parasite (Ep 1)

Not all parasites fit the stereotypical “parasite” image of either being microscopic or being a worm. In fact, some of the weirdest ones don’t fit into either of those categories! In this episode of Not Your Average Parasite, we take a look at the parasitoid wasps. We learn about their biological classification (taxonomy), where they live, how they parasitize their target hosts, how they can locate their victims, and how they might even be beneficial to humans. Parasitoid wasps serve as an excellent example of how to be a parasite while being anything but average.

This episode was written and narrated by Jana Wollesen.

Questions? Contact me at [email protected]

Special thanks to Austin Uhls for editing assistance.

Want to learn more about parasitoid wasps? Check out a few of these awesome articles:

For a glimpse into their taxonomy and evolutionary history:
https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0960-9822%2817%2930059-3

https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev.ento.51.110104.151029?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub++0pubmed

For information on where parasitic wasps live:
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0032101

For information on how they find their target hosts:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/42902439.pdf

For a look at how they might be beneficial to humans:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095311918620787

Visual Sources:

Lepidoptera target image: https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/23/2018/09/caterpillarswallowtail_iStock_623-5807e3c.jpg?quality=90&resize=768,574

Malaria image: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/mmRfdCFC2u7s14g5ghVPZp0f3jGJmEZaT6S5OzVxSKN1G9b5RxWR2l__jBHBxR5Fe4Gz_w=s128

Temperate forest image: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/IbBFWBWqJXMs9bGR4PtwRvqrFCIbaJ8hFYFHa4FABCLcmiB8fX9PZLSjoAHPClGwSUUOyw=s128

Tropical forest image: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/szCYhSMg1O2JtTeFB8eKgSbK6Fb3m_GEFuYcaZZWkL63QL0g87iqmjEwKxhmvhVHUxkjGw=s128

Worm image: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/JRws-jXt9yAYqqzSNyBVYviBLNz2CcJZDt196egN_IhkaJYb0lzCUHmxp_OC1PuZdGpm=s128

Garden image: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/QErzk9B926f7N8VmBvbIHb2_xivN5AN5O3jjLiXQx8KaMHksaTsqhn61vPDRz1MydPs02A=s128

Map image: https://www.mapshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/TMSWORLD.S.jpg

Parasitoid wasp video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIcDGrSGLt4

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