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The bizarre world of parasitic wasps - Miles Zhang

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TEDEd Animation

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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.

What is a hyperparasitoid?

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Meet The Creators

  • Educator Miles Zhang
  • Director Denys Spolitak
  • Narrator Jack Cutmore-Scott
  • Music Salil Bhayani, cAMP Studio
  • Sound Designer Zavid Lan, cAMP Studio
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Senior Producer Anna Bechtol
  • Associate Producer Sazia Afrin
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Script Producer Cella Wright
  • Fact-Checker Charles Wallace

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