YoutubeNature never ceases to amaze and the gruesome reproduction cycle of the Spider Wasp is no exception.
According to the Daily Mail, the badass wasp captures its spider prey and then uses them to host its young before eating them alive. After paralysing the unlucky arachnid the spider then drags it back to their underground lair, lays an egg in its abdomen and waits for their larvae to hatch.
The larvae – showing a distinct lack of gratitude – then disembowel the spider and eat it from the inside out – whilst the spider wasps try to keep the spider alive through the disturbing ordeal. Lovely stuff.
The manager of live exhibits at the Museum of Victoria, Patrick Honan, told Daily Mail Australia:
They generally leave the vital organs till last, as they want to keep the spider as fresh as possible when they eat it and it needs its organs to stay alive.
The wasp in the video – which was uploaded to YouTube this week – can be seen dragging its prey towards its nest in a residential address in Australia.
www.adelaidenow.com.auMr Honan added:
It’s a battle of life and death once the wasp takes a hold of the arachnid. They sometimes – rarely – come out on top. It seems cruel but that’s the way nature is.
You don’t say!
