Syntretus perlmani:
Researchers recently discovered a new species of parasitoid wasp named Syntretus perlmani that matures inside living adult fruit flies before bursting out, much like a scene from the Alien films.
- Syntretus perlmani is a new species of parasitoid wasp.
- It is the first wasp found to infect adult fruit flies, a stark contrast to related wasp species that usually target the larvae and pupae stages of flies.
- These fruit fly invaders are considered parasitoids rather than parasites because they always kill their hosts unlike the latter, which generally leave them alive.
- Female S. perlmani wasps use a specialised organ called an ovipositor to inject eggs directly into the abdomen of adult fruit flies.
- Over the next 18 days, the eggs develop into wasp larvae, slowly growing inside the host until they eventually kill the fly by emerging out of its body.
- The research team found evidence of S. perlmani across the eastern United States, including Mississippi, Alabama, and North Carolina
