Favoritos de doctorscience

Unfortunately I only had my phone camera when I saw this parasitic wasp “walking” the incapacitated wood roach back to its nest. The wasp injects a precise sting into the brain of the roach and removes its antennae, disabling its escape reflex. This allows the wasp to lead the roach back to its burrow where it proceeds to be parasitized by the larval wasps while still alive and paralyzed.

Roach observation:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/83897595

Live larvae extracted from three living fledgling barn swallows (legally, by wildlife rehabbers). Each was about the length of a grain of rice and the diameter of a mealworm, and were present all over the swallow’s bodies, especially in the head and neck area. They were all well under the skin with a hole through which to breathe and responded to touch by retreating further into the hole. I know the picture isn’t great for ID but hopefully adding the host + size can help narrow it down.