On predatory wasps and zombie cockroaches
Open Access
- 1 September 2010
- journal article
- Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd in Communicative & Integrative Biology
- Vol. 3 (5), 458-461
- https://doi.org/10.4161/cib.3.5.12472
Abstract
Accumulating evidence suggest that nonhuman organisms, including invertebrates, possess the ability to make non-random choices based purely on ongoing and endogenously-created neuronal processes. We study this precursor of spontaneity in cockroaches stung by A. compressa, a parasitoid wasp that employs cockroaches as a live food supply for its offspring. This wasp uses a neurotoxic venom cocktail to 'hijack' the nervous system of its cockroach prey and manipulate specific features of its decision making process, thereby turning the cockroach into a submissive 'zombie' unable to self-initiate locomotion. We discuss different behavioral and physiological aspects of this venom-induced 'zombified state' and highlight at least one neuronal substrate involved in the regulation of spontaneous behavior in insects.Keywords
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