Terrifying ‘Dementor’ wasp turns victims into zombies

Terrifying ‘Dementor’ wasp turns victims into zombies

This nasty wasp has been uncovered during a recent expedition to the Mekong region in Southeast Asia recently, according to a new report.

A new report from the World Wildlife Fund details 139 new species discovered in the Greater Mekong Region in Southeast Asia in 2014, and one of those creatures is a terrifying new species of wasp in Thailand named after the dementors from the Harry Potter books.

Called ampulex dementor, it has venom that essentially turns its prey into zombies, after which they are eaten alive by the hungry wasp. Its name plays off the dementors, evil creatures in the Harry Potter books that suck all positive feelings and memories from anyone around them, according to media reports.

The dementor wasp tends to prey on cockroaches using this technique, descending on them and then injecting venom, turning them into unwitting zombies and then leading them off to their deaths.

A total of 2,216 species have been discovered in the Mekong in the last 17 years, which comes to about three species per week.

The dementor wasp was just one of many species that were discovered during scientists expedition in the region that includes countries like Vietnam, Thailand, and others.

They also discovered a stick insect in Vietnam that was a whopping 21 inches long, and a crocodile newt species in Myanmar that was starting turn up in pet stores in Europe. They found two new orchid species at a market in Bangkok, being traded despite the fact that they hadn’t even been scientifically identified yet.

Most of the new species discovered were plants, but scientists also found 23 new reptiles, 16 new amphibians, nine fish, and a mammal.

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