Crazy wasps: when parasites manipulate the Polistes phenotype

The infection of Polistes dominulus wasps by the strepsipteran Xenos vesparum provides a suitable case study for exploring parasitic manipulation. One aim of this review is to summarize the life cycle of X. vesparum: from infection of immature wasps to the "stylopization" of adults, and from its mating at summer aberrant aggregations of infected wasps to the overwintering of fertilized Xenos inside the abdomen of hibernating wasps. The second aim of this review it to highlight how this parasite manipulates the flexible phenotype of the wasp to maximize its own reproductive success.