English

An emerald cockroach wasp, Ampulex compressa

Noun

cockroach wasp ‎(plural cockroach wasps)

1. Any wasp of the family Ampulicidae, small sphecoid wasps that prey on cockroaches to lay their eggs on them.
   • 2007, Craig Childs, The Animal Dialogues: Uncommon Encounters in the Wild, unnumbered page,

     The emerald cockroach wasp, Ampulex compressa, uses a cockroach as a host by essentially taking over its mind.

   • 2010, Lynas Murdoch, Four Years on St Helena, page 92,

     Equally fascinating was a video shot by Norman Hoyle, the school's Deputy Head, which showed a cockroach having been stung by a cockroach wasp (Ampulex Compressa) - though I seem to recall that the locals had a different name for it.

   • 2011, Peter K. L. Ng, Richard Corlett, Hugh T. W. Tan (editors), Singapore Biodiversity, page 268,

     Mainly found in the tropics, cockroach wasps have a metallic green body and measure up to 33 mm long. […] When a prey is located, the female cockroach wasp stings the prey to paralyse it.

Derived terms

• emerald cockroach wasp (Ampulex compressa)

See also

• ensign wasp