Wasp named after Dementors

A newly discovered species of wasp in Southeast Asia that sucks the life out of cockroaches was named after the dementors that so terrorized Harry Potter in the series by J.K. Rowling[1].

The wasp, Ampulex dementor, was aptly named as "an allusion to the wasps' behavior to selectively paralyze its cockroach prey," according to the report. The fictional, shadowy prison guards of Azkaban that are dementors, likewise, also literally suck the life out of their prey - only they use a kiss of death.

Native to Thailand, Ampulex dementor, has bright reddish and black coloring. It is one of over 200 species of wasp which reproduces using a host incubator - in this wasp's case, it uses the cockroach.

The female lands on top of a cockroach and uses its stinger to inject neurotoxins directly into the roach's head. The cockroach immediately takes on a zombie-like obedient state and follows the wasp back to her burrow. There, she lays her egg inside the cockroach, which incubates the egg for a few days until it hatches. The larva then feeds on the roach that birthed it until it's old enough to go off on its own.

[1] Ohl et al: The Soul-Sucking Wasp by Popular Acclaim – Museum Visitor Participation in Biodiversity Discovery and Taxonomy in PloS One 2014