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Predator or prey?

Tiger beetles are predators and eat ants, chasing them down. The beetles even eats ants when they are still larval and can't run - by waiting in ambush in theirs burrows. When an ant touches a beetle grub's head, the grub reacts and snaps its jaws up to grab it. However, the parasitic wasp Methocha may look like an ant, but it's bad news for the tiger beetle grub. These wasps are swift enough to dodge the grub's attack and squeeze past it into the burrow. Once behind the grub, the wasps pull the grubs down into the burrow and stings it. The grubs becomes paralysed, and the wasps lay their eggs on it, then block up the burrow entrance. The larva will eat the tiger beetle grub.

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3 minutes

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