emerald cockroach wasp

plural emerald cockroach wasps

1. A cockroach wasp, of species Ampulex compressa.

   One interesting example of this is the emerald cockroach wasp Ampulex compressa which uses cockroaches as hosts for its developing offspring.

   2009, David Penney, Field Guide to Wildlife of the Gambia, page 90

   2 more examples

   […]we have available at the moment an effective cockroach control program which does not require the use of a gram of chemicals. This is simply the encouragement in our homes of the emerald cockroach wasp, the ensign cockroach wasp and the wolf spider.

   1971, Agricultural Science Review, page 35

   The emerald cockroach wasp is one of nature's most incredible insects. The female does not kill the prey when it injects it with venom. Instead, the wasp turns the prey into a live food source for its growing young.

   2011, Jay Dale, Deadly and Incredible Animals: Top Ten Minibeasts, page 11

   Synonyms: jewel wasp