• Print

Parasitic wasp species named after Uma Thurman’s Kill Bill character

A new species of wasp discovered in Thailand has been named after Uma Thurman’s character from the Kill Bill movies, Beatrix Kiddo. The wasp was granted the assassin’s name because it not only follows a deadly lifestyle, but bears a resemblance to Kiddo’s iconic yellow and black jumpsuit from the movies.

The wasp probably can’t punch its way out of a coffin that is buried underground, but it does havesome sneaky assassin moves in its repertoire. Officially called Cystomastacoides kiddo, the wasp belongs to the Braconidae family,  which is a family of parasitic wasps. Their signature move is to lay their eggs inside a host, and as the larvae grow, they eat the host from within. Even more terrifying, sometimes the larvae don’t actually kill the host, even though it ate most of its insides, rendering it immobile, but not dead. Not the greatest fate.

There are quite a few terrifying wasps flying around in the world, and not just because they’re gross and sting you. Last year alone, scientists found around 177 species of parasitic wasps hanging out in Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Thankfully, none of those assassin wasps were discovered in our backyards.

A couple of other wasps in the Cystomastacoides genus were discovered as well, both of which are equally terrifying. One was found doing what it pleased to a moth caterpillar, while another was named after fantasy author Nicole Peeler, of the Jane True series, which is categorized as a paranormal romance. Perhaps the most terrifying thing of all