令人毛骨悚然的守穴黄蜂，有一种可怕的生存技术

The crypt-keeper wasp is hardly a fussy eater. Given the chance, this creepy parasitic insect will chew through the heads of at least seven different species to survive, a new study has found.

守穴黄蜂可不是个挑剔的食客。一项新的研究发现，如果有机会，这种令人毛骨悚然的寄生昆虫，将咬碎至少七种不同物种的头部来维持生存。

Discovered just a few years ago, this gruesome predator (Euderus set) is known as a 'hyper-manipulator' - a parasite that manipulates a parasite that manipulates a host.

就在几年前，这种可怕的食肉动物(Euderus set) 被称为“超级操纵者”——一种操纵宿主的寄生虫。

Mona Luo

From what little we know so far, the crypt-keeper's prime prey appears to be the parasitic gall wasp - known for tricking its plant host into covering its eggs with a gall, or a swelling of nutrients.

根据我们目前所知的有限信息，这种守穴黄蜂主要寄生于瘿蜂——瘿蜂将卵产在植物中，从而引发后者异常生长，形成瘿而闻名。

These are the so-called 'crypts' in which the crypt-keeper also deposits its eggs. And in doing so, the larvae of the crypt-keeper can thus infect the larvae of the original occupant.

这些就是所谓的“地穴”，守穴黄蜂也会在其中产卵。这样一来，守穴黄蜂的幼虫就可以感染瘿蜂的幼虫。

The next step is simple: manipulate the gall wasp so that when it's done developing, it chews a much smaller hole in its nest than necessary. As it tries to scramble out, the wasp's head will then hopefully become stuck, killing the creature in the plugged hole.

下一步很简单：操纵瘿蜂，等它发育完成时，守穴黄蜂会在巢中咬一个比需要的小得多的洞。当瘿蜂试图爬出来的时候，头很可能会卡住，守穴黄蜂就能在堵塞的洞里杀死它。

Only then can the crypt-keeper eat its way out, right through the other parasite.

这样，守穴黄蜂就能吃掉其他寄生虫。

Parasites that manipulate other parasites are an extremely rare phenomenon that is rarely studied. There's a lot we have yet to learn about them... but how badly do we want to know?

操纵其他寄生虫的寄生虫是一种极其罕见的现象，很少有人研究。关于他们，我们还有很多需要了解的……但是我们有多想知道呢?

The research was published in Biology Letters.

这项研究发表在《生物学快报》上。