American cockroach

To complete their life cycles, they must first sting an American cockroach, and inject the much larger insect with mind-control toxins that turn it into a defenseless zombie.

American cockroaches, another outdoor species, prefer a warmer, moist environment.

On the other hand, an American cockroach can live 1-2 years, he said.

Like many parasitoid species, the emerald jewel wasp is a specialist with only one option for a host—in this case, the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana.

The real-life American cockroach can squeeze through a crack the height of two stacked pennies and resist crushing forces up to 900 times its body weight.