Yesterday, I learned that the tiny town of Mountain City, TX has quite the tarantula population. But I also learned that tarantulas have a bizarre natural enemy called a Tarantula Hawk. No, it's not a bird. It's a crazy wasp with "the most painful of any insect, though the intense pain only lasts for about 3 minutes."
It gets weirder. Here's what happens to the poor tarantulas: The Tarantula Hawks "captures, stings, and paralyzes the spider, then either drags the spider back into her own burrow or transports her prey to a specially prepared nest where a single egg is laid on the spider’s body, and the entrance is covered. When the wasp larva hatches, it rips a small hole in the spider's abdomen, then plunges into the spider's belly and feeds voraciously, avoiding vital organs for as long as possible to keep it fresh. After several weeks, the larva pupates. Finally, the wasp becomes an adult, and tears open the spider's belly to get out. The wasp emerges from the nest to continue the life cycle."
Very frightening stuff.
