This Wasp Makes Zombies in The Gasp Menagerie
This made the international news rounds recently, but there’s no way I wasn’t going to add it to the Menagerie. What we have here is a newly discovered wasp called the Ampulex Dementor. Yes, the behavior of this creature inspired the discoverer to name it after the soul-sucking, happiness-draining ghostly villains of the Harry Potter stories.
Is there ANY way that ends in happiness?
Spoiler: Nope.
These may not be big wasps (about 1/3 of an inch) but they’re ugly and what they do is horrific. Their prey is cockroaches. With one sting they destroy the free will of the roach. It will stop trying to escape and become lethargic, compliant. The wasp then leads the much-larger roach back to its lair and eats it alive.
I think calling this thing a dementor is a slam on Potter’s dementors.
And now there’s nothing to do but wait for the inevitable Syfy film based on oversized versions of these turning attractive 25-year-old teenagers into zombies.
Have a weird story? Potential evidence of the supernatural, or at least something hard to explain? Spot any creepy critters out there roaming the wilds? LET ME KNOW! I’d love to talk about it and possibly write it up right here in the Gasp Menagerie. You’ll get appropriate credit, of course, and everyone else will get fresh creepy (as opposed to fresh Creepy, which, trust me… nobody wants that) to enjoy. As always, I can be found at mrdark@dreadcentral.com. Now get out there, find some weird, and let’s get this party started.
Categorized:News
