About Ampulex compressa (Fabricius, 1781)
Ampulex compressa (Fabricius, 1781) is a wasp with a metallic blue-green body; the thighs of its second and third pairs of legs are red. Females are approximately 22 mm long, while males are smaller, lack a stinger, and can be less than half the size of a female if they emerge from a smaller or superparasitized host.
This species goes through four larval stages. The early, younger larvae feed externally on the hemolymph of a paralyzed roach’s leg, while the final instar feeds internally. When pupating, it forms a thick, spindle-shaped, chocolate-colored cocoon, which develops inside the dead cockroach within a burrow.
Ampulex compressa is mostly found in tropical regions of Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Pacific islands. Flying individuals of this species are more abundant during warm seasons. It was introduced to Hawaii in 1941 by F.X. Williams for use as a biocontrol agent, but this introduction was unsuccessful due to the wasp’s territorial behavior and the small scale at which it hunts. The species is also found in the Brazilian states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and it most likely entered Brazil through the ports of Santos and Rio de Janeiro.
