Scientists Discover New Parasitic Wasps Invading the U.S.

There are all sorts of cruel parasites out there, and more are being uncovered all the time. Scientists have recently found several invasive species of parasitic wasps that have now landed in the U.S.

Researchers at Binghamton University and the University of Iowa made the discovery. For the first time ever, they detected the presence of two closely related parasitic wasp species previously only found in Europe. Don’t be too personally afraid, though: these wasps only infest other wasps.

A wasp-eat-wasp world

The researchers were interested in studying oak gall wasps. These wasps invade and lay their eggs inside oak trees. The egg-laying process also generates the titular gall—benign growths that sprout from the plant (in human terms, these growths are like warts). The egg matures insid