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.

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

   2007, Craig Childs, The Animal Dialogues: Uncommon Encounters in the Wild

   2 more examples

   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.

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

   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.

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