Zombie Spiders For Freaky Friday...!

As if we didn 't have enough bad stuff floating around, now we have zombie spiders!

Thanks to Mother Nature for her part in this particular little horror. I'm sure She has many more surprises just waiting for us to discover them. I'm the first to admit I'm in no hurry, know what I mean?

The Walking Dead

 

Photo credit: Answers In Genesis

 

Researchers recently uncovered a special aspect of the relationship between a parasitic variety of wasp and a certain species of spider. It’s long been known that the wasp uses spiders to build extra-strong nests for its cocoons, but it’s how the wasps are able to do this that is unusual—by turning the spiders into mind-controlled zombies.

Specifically, a female wasp lays an egg on the belly of a spider. Once hatched, the larva attaches itself to the spider’s nervous system, subsisting on its blood and releasing a chemical that causes the spider to become a mindless construction worker for an ultra-durable wasp nest.
The modified strands reflect ultraviolet light instead of absorbing it like regular webbing, negating its effectiveness at trapping prey. Once finished, the larva thanks its zombie slave by eating it and then happily builds its cocoon.

Talk about a horror show...this has to rank way up there with all the others. Not only does the spider get turned into a zombie, when it's work is completed, it becomes dinner!

Coffee out on the patio again One more gorgeous day.