Getting the Most Out of Your Zombie: Abdominal Sensors and Neural Manipulations Help Jewel Wasps Find the Roach's Weak Spot

A perspective on neuroethology: what the past teaches us about the future of neuroethology

For 100 years, the Journal of Comparative Physiology-A has significantly supported research in the field of neuroethology. The celebration of the journal's centennial is a great time point to appreciate the recent progress in neuroethology and to discuss possible avenues of the field. Animal behavior is the main source of inspiration for neuroethologists. This is illustrated by the huge diversity of investigated behaviors and species. To explain behavior at a mechanistic level, neuroethologists combine neuroscientific approaches with sophisticated behavioral analysis. The rapid technological progress in neuroscience makes neuroethology a highly dynamic and exciting field of research. To summarize the recent scientific progress in neuroethology, I went through all abstracts of the last six International Congresses for Neuroethology (ICNs 2010-2022) and categorized them based on the sensory modalities, experimental model species, and research topics. This highlights the diversity of neuroethology and gives us a perspective on the field's scientific future. At the end, I highlight three research topics that may, among others, influence the future of neuroethology. I hope that sharing my roots may inspire other scientists to follow neuroethological approaches.

Early destruction of cockroach respiratory system and heart by emerald jewel wasp larvae

In the 1880s, Henri Fabre was captivated by the "special art of eating", whereby a parasitoid wasp larva fed selectively on host internal organs, avoiding the heart (dorsal vessel) and tracheal system (respiratory system) to preserve life. In Fabre's words: "The ruling feature in this scientific method of eating, which proceeds from parts less to the parts more necessary to preserve a remnant of life, is none the less obvious"1. Subsequent investigators have reported the same for many parasitoid wasps2,3, including for the emerald jewel wasp (Ampulex compressa)4. Here it is reported that larval jewel wasps destroy the dorsal vessel and tracheae (respiratory system) in the thorax of their cockroach host (Periplaneta americana) at their earliest opportunity. Moreover, the broken tracheae release air into the host, which the larval jewel wasp inspires. An increase in larval chewing rate, cotemporaneous with the sudden release of air from the host's broken tracheae, suggests the larva taps into the host respiratory system to support its metabolism while rapidly consuming the host. VIDEO ABSTRACT.

A Short Review of the Venoms and Toxins of Spider Wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae)

Parasitoid wasps represent the plurality of venomous animals, but have received extremely little research in proportion to this taxonomic diversity. The lion’s share of investigation into insect venoms has focused on eusocial hymenopterans, but even this small sampling shows great promise for the development of new active substances. The family Pompilidae is known as the spider wasps because of their reproductive habits which include hunting for spiders, delivering a paralyzing sting, and entombing them in burrows with one of the wasp’s eggs to serve as food for the developing larva. The largest members of this family, especially the tarantula hawks of the genus Pepsis, have attained notoriety for their large size, dramatic coloration, long-term paralysis of their prey, and incredibly painful defensive stings. In this paper we review the existing research regarding the composition and function of pompilid venoms, discuss parallels from other venom literatures, identify possible avenues for the adaptation of pompilid toxins towards human purposes, and future directions of inquiry for the field.