Emerald cockroach wasp
Scientific name: Ampulex compressa (Fabricius, 1781)
Overview
The emerald cockroach wasp or jewel wasp is a solitary wasp of the family Ampulicidae. It is known for its unusual reproductive behavior, which involves leading a cockroach into a dug burrow and using it as a host for its larvae. It thus belongs to the entomophagous parasites.
From the Wikipedia article “Emerald cockroach wasp”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where it lives
The Catalogue of Life records it in: Africa; Australia; Oceania; Southern Asia.
Common names
Names in other languages (7)
- Arabic
- زنبور اللماع
- Chinese
- 绿蠊泥蜂, 绿长背泥蜂
- German
- Juwelwespe
- Indonesian
- Tawon permata
- Japanese
- エメラルドゴキブリバチ
- Persian
- زنبور جواهر
- Russian
- Изумрудная тараканья оса
Related animals
Sources
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Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names and range.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: The Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — names in other languages. Q367020, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Emerald cockroach wasp”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — Sharadpunita, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026