Legend has it the alien of the movie franchise was inspired by parasitoid wasps.

The scene in which an alien bursts from the body of its human host plays on repeat in the world of parasitoid wasps and their insect or spider hosts.

These range from tiny wasps that consume the eggs of other insects, to large wasps that paralyse spiders with stings that are painful to humans.

“Girault self-published many of his research papers without any peer review. He was obsessed with parasitoid wasps and described many species which he or his colleagues had collected, but he also described things that don’t exist from places that don’t exist,” Ian says.

Ian recalls working with a South African researcher who visited Australia to search for parasitoid wasps that could be used for biocontrol of Australian insects.

Finally, Ian reminds us the spirit of A.A. Girault lives on in the common names of some parasitoid wasps.

The search for the samurai wasp is one of many projects worldwide investigating parasitoid wasps for biocontrol of pest insects.