Emerald Cockroach Wasp vs Sabre Wasp

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Emerald Cockroach Wasp Sabre Wasp
Scientific Name Ampulex compressa Rhyssa persuasoria
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Ampulicidae Ichneumonidae
Size 22 mm 25-40 mm body length
Habitat Forests Farmland
Diet Nectar Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions Africa, Asia, Oceania Europe, Asia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Emerald Cockroach Wasp

A brilliant emerald-green wasp that zombifies cockroaches. It delivers precise stings to the cockroachs brain, removing its escape reflex. Then leads it by the antenna like a dog on a leash.

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Did You Know?

The emerald cockroach wasp performs neurosurgery — it stings a cockroach twice in precise brain locations to disable its escape reflex, then walks it to a burrow like a zombie.

Sabre Wasp

The largest European ichneumon wasp, recognized by its black-and-white banded body. It parasitizes the larvae of wood wasps within conifer trunks.

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Did You Know?

She can detect a wood wasp larva through several centimeters of solid timber using her antennae.