• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Animals / Can parasites of insects prevent their hosts from encapsulating them?

Can parasites of insects prevent their hosts from encapsulating them?

March 2, 2020 by Karen Hill

Parasites of insects have evolved several ways, mainly biochemical mechanisms, to prevent their hosts from encapsulating them.

It was also recently discovered that certain parasitic wasps that live in the body cavity of an insect as larvae have enlisted an outside agent, a virus, to do this job for them.

This virus, specifically known as a polydnavirus, suppresses the host’s immune system (the system that triggers encapsulation) in a way that has yet to be discovered.

The egg that the mother of the parasite injects into the host insect is coated with a fluid that contains the polydnaviruses that will make the survival of her offspring possible.

The egg is bathed in this fluid as it passes through its mother’s reproductive tract.

Related Facts

  • Where do Germs, Bacteria, and Viruses come from and How do they make us sick?
  • How did scientists develop the Salk vaccine for polio in the 1950s?
  • Where does West Nile Virus come from and How does West Nile Virus spread?
  • Does It Ever Really Get Hot Enough To Fry an Egg On the Sidewalk?
  • How do Vaccines help prevent the spread of Infectious Diseases?
  • How do we find out about new Flu strains in time to develop new vaccines against them?

Filed Under: Animals

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « What is an instar?
Next Post: What is the structure of an insect’s central nervous system? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy