Say What?
And how about this? Scientists have developed a cure for zombie cockroaches… I guess because we need more of them? Or is it because there really will be a zombie apocalypse and we’re going to need the cure for ourselves? And is it wasps who will turn us into zombies? Or scientists experimenting with them? I don’t know… what do you think?
Here’s a video:
Watch how jewel wasps turn cockroaches into “zombies” and find out about the antidote scientists have discovered.
For more info see this article at New Scientist
I know it sounds crazy… but it’s actually true!
The parasitoid wasp Glyptapanteles lays its eggs, about 80 at a time, in young geometrid caterpillars. The eggs hatch and the larvae feed on the caterpillar’s body fluids. When they are fully developed, they eat through the caterpillar’s skin, attach themselves to a nearby branch or leaf and wrap themselves up in a cocoon.
Having partially developed inside caterpillars, the larvae of the wasps manipulate their hosts into watching over them as a mother or bodyguard might.
The caterpillar, still alive, behaves as though controlled by the cocooned larvae. Instead of going about its usual daily business, it stands arched over the cocoons without moving away or feeding.
Here’s a video:
The caterpillar – now effectively a zombie – stays alive until the adult wasps hatch.
“We don’t know exactly what kills the caterpillars, but it is fascinating that the moment of death seems to be tuned to the duration of the wasp’s pupal stage,” says Arne Janssen of the University of Amsterdam.
Although Janssen and his colleagues do not know how the parasites make the caterpillars change their behaviour, they think that a few larvae in each brood may sacrifice themselves to help their brothers and sisters.
“If we dissect the caterpillars, we find one or two parasitoid larvae have stayed behind, even after the rest of the brood has emerged and formed cocoons,” says Janssen.
It could be that the larvae that remain in the host control its behaviour in order to make it protect the rest of the brood.
Cool huh? I found this at New Scientist, where you can read the entire article.
The Karni Mata Temple is an important Hindu site. It is a beautiful temple made of marble with solid silver doors. However, it is not the architecture of this temple that attracts tourists; it is the thousands of rats that inhabit it. There are special holes and tunnels around the temple to facilitate the rats’ movements as well as a wire screen over the courtyard to protect them from birds of prey.
Pilgrims are anointed with ash while the scurrying critters run over their feet. This is considered very auspicious as is spotting a rare white rat. Bowls of milk and water are strategically placed throughout the temple and pilgrims feed the rats balls of sugar. You may be asking, “Why all the fuss about rats?” Well, these pilgrims believe that the rats are their ancestors.
So, today I was researching how to find a mentor for the Prosperity Project and ended up (of all places) on Mail Order Husbands! So, I took their quiz to find my ideal match and this is who I came up with:
Congratulations!
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Stan, (stationed) in Iraq
I got way too much time on my hands over here. I’m on my second tour in Iraq and am supposed to go back in a few months. I’m cool with going to most anywhere afterwards. I’m looking for a traditional type of woman who wants a bunch of kids.
If an image has posted without permission please leave a comment and I will happily remove it, replace it, give credit, link love ~ whatever you prefer.
I think it's time to go shopping... maybe even buy some really cool stuff at my online shops!!
