The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpillar

by Matt Simon

  And thanks to all the creatures. I know you can’t read this, but I’d feel lousy not saying it.

  Bibliography

  CHAPTER 1:

  You Absolutely Must Get Laid

  Antechinus

  Darwin, C. (2009). On the Origin of Species: A Facsimile of the First Edition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

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  Kemper, S. (2008). Who’s Laughing Now? Smithsonian. Retrieved from http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/whos-laughing-now-38529396/?all&no-ist.

  Simon, M. (2014). Absurd Creature of the Week: This Marsupial Has Marathon Sex Until It Goes Blind and Drops Dead. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2014/05/absurd-creature-of-the-week-this-marsupial-has-marathon-sex-until-it-goes-blind-and-drops-dead/.

  ———. (2014). Fantastically Wrong: The Poor, Misunderstood Hyena Can’t Help That It Has Weird Sex. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2014/05/fantastically-wrong-sexually-deviant-hyenas/.

  Tyson, P. (2007). Evolution Down Under. PBS. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/evolution-down-under.html.

  Yong, E. (2013). Why a Little Mammal Has So Much Sex That It Disintegrates. National Geographic. Retrieved from http://phenomena.national geographic.com/2013/10/07/why-a-little-mammal-has-so-much-sex-that-it-disintegrates/.

  Anglerfish

  Bioluminescence Questions and Answers. (2015). Latz Lab, UC San Diego. Retrieved from https://scripps.ucsd.edu/labs/mlatz/bioluminescence/bioluminescence-questions-and-answers/.

  Fairbairn, D. (2013). Odd Couples: Extraordinary Differences Between the Sexes in the Animal Kingdom. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

  Gould, S. (1994). Hen’s Teeth and Horse’s Toes: Further Reflections in Natural History. New York: W. W. Norton.

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  Pietsch, T. (1975). Precocious Sexual Parasitism in the Deep Sea Ceratioid Anglerfish, Cryptopsaras Couesi Gill. Nature, 10.1038/256038a0.

  ———. (2005). Dimorphism, Parasitism, and Sex Revisited: Modes of Reproduction Among Deep-Sea Ceratioid Anglerfishes. Ichthyological Research, 10.1007/s10228-005-0286-2.

  ———. (2009). Oceanic Anglerfishes: Extraordinary Diversity in the Deep Sea. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

  Simon, M. (2013). Absurd Creature of the Week: The Anglerfish and the Absolute Worst Sex on Earth. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2013/11/absurd-creature-of-the-week-anglerfish/.

  Yoshizawa, K., R. Ferreira, Y. Kamimura, and C. Lienhard. (2014). Female Penis, Male Vagina, and Their Correlated Evolution in a Cave Insect. Current Biology, 10.1016/j.cub.2014.03.022.

  Flatworm

  Bootlace Worm. (n.d.). NAFC Marine Centre. Retrieved from http://www.nafc.uhi.ac.uk/departments/marine-science-and-technology/discovery-zone/discovery-zone-map/bootlace-worm.

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  Stutt, A., and M. Siva-Jothy. (2001). Traumatic Insemination and Sexual Conflict in the Bed Bug Cimex Lectularius. PNAS, 10.1073/pnas.101440698.

  Mustache Toad

  Darwin, C. (1860). Letter to Asa Gray. Retrieved from http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/entry-2743.

  Emlen, D. (2014). Animal Weapons. New York: Henry Holt.

  Hudson, C., and J. Fu. (2013). Male-Biased Sexual Size Dimorphism, Resource Defense Polygyny, and Multiple Paternity in the Emei Moustache Toad (Leptobrachium Boringii). PLOS One, 10.1371/journal.pone.0067502.

  Izzo, T., D. Rodrigues, M. Menin, A. Lima, and W. Magnusson. (2012). Functional Necrophilia: A Profitable Anuran Reproductive Strategy? Journal of Natural History, 10.1080/00222933.2012.724720.

  Simon, M. (2014). Absurd Creature of the Week: This Toad Grows a Spiky Mustache and Stabs Rivals for the Ladies. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2014/02/absurd-creature-week-toad-grows-spiky-mustache-stabs-rivals-ladies/.

  Toadfish

  Brahic, C. (2008). “Horror Frog” Breaks Own Bones to Produce Claws. New Scientist. Retrieved from http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13991-horror-frog-breaks-own-bones-to-produce-claws.html#.VN_G1nbWTVo.

  Brantley, R., and A. Bass. (2010). Alternative Male Spawning Tactics and Acoustic Signals in the Plainfin Midshipman Fish Porichthys notatus Girard (Teleostei, Batrachoididae). Ethology, 0.1111/j.1439-0310.1994.tb01011.x.

  Carson, R. (1989). The Sea Around Us. New York: Oxford University Press.

  Do Lovesick Fish Sing in Sausalito? [Editorial] (August 12, 1985). Marin Independent Journal, A10.

  Dorcas, M., and W. Gibbons. (2011). Frogs: The Animal Answer Guide. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

  Luxury Condoms: Ultrasensitive Thanks to Fish Bladders. (2015). Museum of Contraception and Abortion Retrieved from http://en.muvs.org/contraception/condoms/fischblasenkondom-auf-holzpenis-id1995/.

  McCosker, J. (1986). The Sausalito Hum. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 80(6): 1853–54.

  ———. (June 1986). In Sum, It Was Some Hum. Discover Magazine.

  CHAPTER 2:

  You Can’t Find a Babysitter

  Ant-Decapitating Fly

  Areawide Fire Ant Suppression. (2015). USDA Agricultural Research Service. Retrieved from http://www.ars.usda.gov/sites/fireants/Imported.htm.

  Geist, L. (2012). Fire Ants Mobilize in the Aftermath of Disaster. University of Missouri. Retrieved from http://extension.missouri.edu/news/DisplayStory.aspx?N=1596.

  Hölldobler, B., and E. O. Wilson. (1995). Journey to the Ants. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press.

  Red Imported Fire Ant (Solenopsis Invicta). (n.d.). Desert Museum. Retrieved from http://www.desertmuseum.org/invaders/invaders_fireant.php.

  Rhatigan, J. (2010). Book of Science Stuff. Watertown, MA: Imagine Publishing.

  Simon, M. (2013). Absurd Creature of the Week: This Fly Hijacks an Ant’s Brain—Then Pops Its Head Off. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2013/12/absurd-creature-of-the-week-this-fly-burrows-into-an-ants-brain-then-pops-its-head-off/.

  Wallace, A. R. (2000). The Malay Archipelago. North Clarendon, VT: Periplus Editions.

  Glyptapanteles Wasp

  Grosman, A., et al. (2008). Parasitoid Increases Survival of Its Pupae by Inducing Hosts to Fight Predators. PLOS One, 10.1371/journal.pone.0002276.

  Simon, M. (2013). Absurd Creature of the Week: Burrowing Botfly Grows Huge Feasting on Your Flesh. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2013/10/absurd-creature-of-the-week-botfly/.


  ———. (2014). Absurd Creature of the Week: The Wasp That Lays Eggs Inside Caterpillars and Turns Them Into Slaves. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2014/10/absurd-creature-week-glyptapanteles-wasp-caterpillar-bodyguard/.

  Whitfield, J. (2004). Ichneumonoidea. Tree of Life Project. Retrieved from http://tolweb.org/Ichneumonoidea.

  Asp Caterpillar

  Bishopp, F. (1923). The Puss Caterpillar and the Effects of Its Sting on Man. United States Department of Agriculture Department Circular, 10.5962/bhl.title.65870.

  Diaz, J. (2005). The Evolving Global Epidemiology, Syndromic Classification, Management, and Prevention of Caterpillar Envenoming. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 72(3): 347–57.

  Eagleman, D. (2007). Envenomation by the Asp Caterpillar (Megalopyge Opercularis). Clinical Toxicology, 10.1080/15563650701227729.

  Hall, D. (2012). Featured Creatures: Puss Caterpillar. University of Florida. Retrieved from http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/Creatures/MISC/MOTHS/puss.htm.

  Heard, K. (2016). Maria Merian’s Butterflies. London: Royal Collection Trust.

  Holland, D., and D. Adams. (1998). “Puss Caterpillar” Envenomation: A Report from North Carolina. Elsevier, 10.1580/1080–6032.

  Hossie, T. (2012). Possibly the Best Known Eyespot Caterpillar: Hemeroplanes Sp. (Sphingidae). Retrieved from http://caterpillar-eyespots.blogspot.ca/2012/01/possibly-best-known-eyespot-caterpillar.html.

  Norris, J., Z. Carrim, and A. Morrell. (2010). Spiderman’s Eye. Lancet, 10.1016/S0140-6736(09)61672-X.

  Todd, K. (2007). Chrysalis: Maria Sibylla Merian and the Secrets of Metamorphosis. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

  Zimmer, C. (2014). The Caterpillar Defense. National Geographic. Retrieved from http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2014/12/10/the-caterpillar-defense/.

  Ocean Sunfish

  Crew, B. (2012). Get on Your Bike, Phallostethus Cuulong. Scientific American. Retrieved from http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/running-ponies/2012/07/25/get-on-your-bike-phallostethus-cuulong/.

  Darwin, C. (2001). The Voyage of the Beagle. New York: Random House.

  McGrouther, M. (2015). Ocean Sunfish, Mola Mola (Linnaeus, 1758). Australian Museum. Retrieved from http://australianmuseum.net.au/Ocean-Sunfish-Mola-mola.

  Nakatsubo, T. (2008). Mola Mola. Retrieved from http://oceansunfish.org/NakatsuboDissertationsSum.pdf.

  Simon, M. (2013). Absurd Creature of the Week: “Pufferfish on Steroids” Gets as Big as a Truck. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2013/12/absurd-creature-of-the-week-3/.

  Thys, T. (2013). Mola Mola. Life History. Retrieved from http://www.oceansunfish.org/lifehistory.php.

  Whale Shark: The World’s Largest Fish. (2013). American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved from http://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/on-exhibit-posts/whale-shark-the-world-s-largest-fish.

  Lowland Streaked Tenrec

  Eisenberg, J., and E. Gould. (1969). The Tenrecs: A Study in Mammalian Behavior and Evolution. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, 10.5479/si.00810282.27.

  Marshall, C., and J. Eisenberg. (1996). Hemicentetes Semispinosus. American Society of Mammalogists 541: 1–4.

  Quick Evolution Leads to Quiet Crickets. (2006). University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved from http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/news/061201_quietcrickets.

  Stephenson, P. (n.d.). Tenrecs in Madagascar. IUCN Afrotheria Specialist Group. Retrieved from www.afrotheria.net/tenrecs/.

  Wallace’s Explanation of Brilliant Colors in Caterpillar Larvae. (1867). Western Kentucky University. Retrieved from http://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/wallace/S129.htm.

  Surinam Toad

  Merian, M. S. (2010). Insects of Surinam. Cologne, Germany: Taschen.

  Rabb, G., and M. Rabb. (1960). On the Mating and Egg-Laying Behavior of the Surinam Toad, Pipa Pipa. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, 10.2307/1439751.

  Roach, J. (2006). Grizzly-Polar Bear Hybrid Found—but What Does It Mean? National Geographic. Retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/05/polar-bears.html.

  Simon, M. (2013). Absurd Creature of the Week: The Frog Whose Young Erupt from Under Its Skin. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2013/12/absurd-creature-of-the-week-the-toad-whose-young-erupt-from-her-skin/.

  Species. (n.d.). In Oxford Dictionaries online. Retrieved from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/species.

  Wilkinson, M., E. Sherratt, F. Starace, and D. Gower. (2013). A New Species of Skin-Feeding Caecilian and the First Report of Reproductive Mode in Microcaecilia (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Siphonopidae). PLOS One, 10.1371/journal.pone.0057756.

  CHAPTER 3:

  You Need a Place to Crash

  Pearlfish

  Crew, B. (2014). Here’s How Pearlfish Call to Each Other from Inside the Bodies of Other Living Animals. Scientific American. Retrieved from http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/running-ponies/how-pearlfish-use-oysters-as-underwater-amplifiers-for-communication/.

  Kéver, L., et al. (2014). Sound Production in Onuxodon Fowleri (Carapidae) and Its Amplification by the Host Shell. Journal of Experimental Biology, 10.1242/jeb.109363.

  Lambert, P. (1997). Sea Cucumbers of British Columbia, Southeast Alaska and Puget Sound. Vancouver: Royal British Columbia Museum.

  Mah, C. (2012). Sea Cucumber Evisceration! Defense! Regeneration! Why? Gross! The Echinoblog. Retrieved from http://echinoblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/sea-cucumber-evisceration-defense.html.

  Parmentier, E., and P. Vandewalle. (2003). Morphological Adaptations of Pearlfish (Carapidae) to Their Various Habitats. Science Publisher, 261–76.

  ———. (2005). Further Insight on Carapid-Holothuroid Relationships. Marine Biology 146: 455–65.

  Simon, M. (2014). Absurd Creature of the Week: This Fish Swims up a Sea Cucumber’s Butt and Eats Its Gonads. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2014/02/absurd-creature-of-the-week-pearlfish/.

  Tongue-Eating Isopod

  Cook, C. (2012). The Early Life History and Reproductive Biology of Cymothoa Excisa, a Marine Isopod Parasitizing Atlantic Croaker (Micropogonias Undulatus), Along the Texas Coast. University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved from http://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/ETD-UT-2012-08-6285/COOK-THESIS.pdf?sequence=1.

  Krulwich, R. (2014). I Won’t Eat, You Can’t Make Me! (And They Couldn’t). NPR. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2014/02/22/ 280249001/i-wont-eat-you-cant-make-me-and-they-couldnt.

  Lowry, J., and K. Dempsey. (2006). The Giant Deep-Sea Scavenger Genus Bathynomus (Crustacea, Isopoda, Cirolanidae) in the Indo-West Pacific. Mémoires du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle 193: 163–92.

  Simon, M. (2013). Absurd Creature of the Week: This Parasite Eats a Fish’s Tongue—and Takes Its Place. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2013/11/absurd-creature-of-the-week-the-parasite-that-eats-and-replaces-a-fishs-tongue/.

  Zimmer, C. (2012). Tongue Parasites to People of Earth: Thank You for Your Overfishing. National Geographic. Retrieved from http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2012/03/02/tongue-parasites-to-people-of-earth-thank-you-for-your-overfishing/.

  Pistol Shrimp

  Bernstein, J. (August 1, 1956). The Noisy Underwater World. Milwaukee Journal, 24.

  Duffy, J. (n.d). Social Shrimp (Crustacea: Decapoda: Alpheidae: Synalpheus): Resources for Teaching. Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Retrieved from http://www.vims.edu/research/units/labgroups/marine_biodiversity/resources/Synalpheus%20teaching%20resources.pdf.

  Duffy, J., and K. Macdonald. (1999). Colony Structure of the Social Snapping Shrimp Synalpheus Filidigitus in Belize. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 10.2307/1549235.

  Eupectella Aspergillum (Venus’ Flower Basket). (n.d.). Natural History Museum, London. Retrieved from http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/species-of-the-day/collections/our-coll
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  Noise. (n.d.). American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Retrieved from http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/Noise/.

  Simon, M. (2014). Absurd Creature of the Week: The Feisty Shrimp That Kills with Bullets Made of Bubbles. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2014/07/absurd-creature-of-the-week-pistol-shrimp/.

  Snapping Shrimp Drown Out Sonar with Bubble-Popping Trick, Described in Science. (2000). American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/09/ 000922072104.htm.

  Versluis, M., B. Schmitz, A. Von der Heydt, and D. Lohse. (2000). How Snapping Shrimp Snap: Through Cavitating Bubbles. Science, 10.1126/science.289.5487.2114.

  Sociable Weaver

  DelViscio, J. (2011). Housing Boom, If You’re a Bird. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/14/world/asia/14sukadana.html.

  MacLean, C. (1972). Island on the Edge of the World: The Story of St Kilda. Edinburgh: Canongate Books.

  Simon, M. (2014). Absurd Creature of the Week: The Bird That Builds Nests So Huge They Pull Down Trees. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2014/08/absurd-creature-of-the-week-the-bird-that-builds-nests-so-huge-they-pull-down-trees/.

  Winch, P. (2007). Wildlife Spotlight: Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis). Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association. Retrieved from http://www.farallones.org/e_newsletter/2007-01/Fulmar.htm.

  Hero Ant

  Helms, J., C. Peeters, and B. Fisher. (2014). Funnels, Gas Exchange and Cliff Jumping: Natural History of the Cliff Dwelling Ant Malagidris Sofina. Insectes Sociaux, 10.1007/s00040-014-0360-8.

  Simon, M. (2014). Absurd Creature of the Week: World’s Most Badass

  Ant Skydives, Uses Own Head as a Shield. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2014/04/absurd-creature-of-the-week-the-amazing-skydiving-ant/.

  ———. (2015). Enter the Twilight Zone, Home to Earth’s Strangest Reefs. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2015/05/twilight-zone-deep-reefs/.