Despite the fact that it’s been three years since the final movie was released, and seven since the final book hit shelves, the Harry Potter fandom remains as strong as ever. To flex those muscles, Potterheads recently named a real-life wasp after one of the book’s most terrifying fictional creatures.
The newly named Ampluex dementor neutralizes its prey by stinging its neural node, leaving it zombie-like. In that way, it’s similar to the Harry Potter Dementor, which immobilizes its victims by sucking out their souls. The name was crowdsourced from 300 visitors to the Museum of Natural History in Berlin, who were asked to vote on their favorite of four possible names for the insect.
Reportedly, the museum simply picked an “attractive wasp” from its collection of hundreds of undescribed insect species, then held the naming contest as a way to give the public some insight into taxonomy and biodiversity. While this is all a very quaint celebration of science, it should also serve as a warning to Hunger Games, Divergent, and Twilight fans: Never doubt the original YA fandom, especially since they can now send a horde of terrifying wasp-demons after you. Accio Ampluex Dementor! [via The Daily Dot]