Explore the gruesome evolutionary strategy employed by parasitoid wasps where they feed off other animals to grow their offspring.

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A cockroach and jewel wasp are locked in battle. The wasp latches onto the cockroach and inserts her stinger into the cockroach's brain, where her venom blocks its fight-or-flight response. Now, the cockroach is essentially a zombie, and its carcass will be used to grow the wasp’s offspring. Miles Zhang explores the gruesome evolutionary strategy known as parasitoidism.

Lesson by Miles Zhang, directed by Denys Spolitak.

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View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-bizarre-world-of-parasitic-wasps-miles-zhang
Dig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-bizarre-world-of-parasitic-wasps-miles-zhang#digdeeper

Animator's website: https://vimeo.com/user50965180
Music: https://www.campstudio.co
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