10J Jewel Wasp
10J Jewel Wasp of the underworld, death dancing parasitoid
The emerald cockroach wasp, or jewel wasp (Ampulex compressa), is a dazzling insect with a metallic blue-green exoskeleton that gleams like a gem—hence its nickname. Native to tropical regions in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific, this solitary parasitoid measures about an inch long and preys on cockroaches in a way that's straight out of horror sci-fi.
The female wasp hunts by stinging a cockroach twice: first to paralyze its front legs, then injecting a precise venom cocktail into the brain that turns the roach into a compliant zombie. It can still walk but loses all will to escape. She then drags it to her burrow by the antenna, lays an egg on its abdomen, and seals it in.
After hatching, the larva feeds on the roach's hemolymph before burrowing inside to devour its organs from the inside out, keeping the host alive just long enough to serve as a fresh meal. Finally, it pupates and emerges from the empty husk, much like the xenomorph in Alien—earning the wasp its gruesome pop-culture moniker for this macabre lifecycle.
This behavioral manipulation showcases nature's ingenuity, with the venom altering the roach's neurotransmitters for ultimate control.
In the emerald veil of tropic dusk, I gleam,
A jeweled horror dart so light, emerald green,
One-fortieth the weight of my armored prey,
Periplaneta americana, done my way.
I flash swift against his bulky hide,
Initiative mine, forged in fire inside,
He trudges blind through humid haze so deep,
My precious victim, soon to be in dark's keep.
Be as I am: strike precise, control the mind,
Quick and light, leave no free will behind.
Be like me: adapt, know your foe's weak spots,
Disciplined ritualled, turn their strength to rot.
Be as I am,
Be as I am,
Be as I am: the architect, not the next to be undone.
His defenses rise in sad, futile fight,
Stilt-stand tall, spines sharp in the night,
Kicks like thunder, mandibles grasping air,
But I circle close, decoding his despair.
First strike to thorax, venom surges through,
Legs seize in hush, paralysis true,
He convulses brief, initiative fades to mist,
My advance is granted, in our twisted tryst.
Be as I am: strike precise, control the mind,
Quick and light, leave no free will behind.
Be like me: adapt, know your foe's weak spots,
Disciplined ritualled, turn their strength to rot.
Be as I am,
Be as I am,
Be as I am: the architect, not the next to be undone.
Protocol deepens, second thrust, so slow,
To the brain's dark core, venom starts to flow.
Twisting circuits, recalibrating will,
Grooming takes him over, trance against his thrill.
Secrets spread like venom from his own glands,
Agency drowned, escape reflex erased,
Compliant form adrift in my command,
Good boy now, lost in my chemical haze.
Be as I am: strike precise, control their mind,
Quick and light, leave no free will behind.
Be like me: adapt, know your foe's weak spots,
Disciplined ritualled, turn their strength to rot.
Be as I am,
Be as I am,
Be as I am: the architect, not the next to be undone.
Sever antennae half, sip his blood so sweet,
Shortened stubs my reins, guide his zombie feet.
To the burrow's depth, his waiting tomb so cold,
Ovipositor precise, affix egg in hold.
Pale promise in gloom, perfect mother he becomes,
Harbors my life in shell, as the horror drums.
Immurement seals it tight, pebbles block the light,
Entombed alive in grip of endless night.
Be as I am: strike precise, control the mind,
Quick and light, leave no free will behind.
Be like me: adapt, know your foe's weak spots,
Disciplined ritualled, turn their strength to rot.
Be as I am,
Be as I am,
Be as I am: the architect, not the next to be undone.
Larva hatches soon, feeds on blood at first,
Molts through phases, inward burrows with thirst.
Aligns its breath with his ruined ways,
Hopeless bubbles rise in dying haze.
Organs yield one by one: fat, muscle, vital core,
Secrets cloak the rot, sterile evermore.
Cocoon spins hard in husk so still,
Pupation weeks, emergence breaks the thrill.
My kin bursts from chest, jewel from the horror.
Be as I am: strike precise, control the mind,
Quick and light, leave no free will behind.
Be like me: adapt, know your foe's weak spots,
Disciplined ritualled, turn their strength to rot.
Be as I am,
Be as I am,
Be as I am: the architect, not the next to be undone.
Agency my dance, knowledge in my bite,
Transform protocol to genesis in night.
Infinitesimal commands the vast expanse,
Ritual perfected with his undeaded trance.
Be as I am,
Be as I am,
Be as I am: the architect, not the next to be undone.
This is the 10th animal in the memory music project.