(CNN) Branding can get you everywhere, even if you're just a bug. Boy, does the "Ampulex dementor" wasp know it. Over a year ago, officially, no one was aware that it even existed. 
 
 But on Wednesday, Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling retweeted its photo, and the buzz helped propel the insect with a creepy sting to worldwide fame. Possibly for eons before, it had lived in obscurity in an enormous Southeast Asian jungle, until it was discovered last year. 
 
 But why would Rowling care? It's all in the name. 
 
 The Ampulex dementor is also called "Soul-Sucking Dementor." And the wasp was named for the sooty, skeletal, flying "dementor" character that appears in Rowling's novels and sucks the humanity out of its victims. 
 
 One almost got Harry at Hogwarts once, but a schoolmate sprang to Potter's aid. 
 
 Newly discovered wasp named after the soul-sucking dementors in Harry Potter. Thanks for the inspiration @jk_rowling ! pic.twitter.com/p8nguCGD6t 
 
 A whatchamacallit 
 
 Over a year ago, when a group of German scientists discovered the wasp in Thailand's Mekong region, Ampulex dementor didn't yet have a name. And the researchers decided to give the public a say in its taxonomy -- the scientific term for classifying a newly discovered species. 
 
 They took specimens back to Berlin, where they added them to some 30 million other exhibits at the natural history museum, the Museum für Naturkunde. 
 
 The Soul-Sucking Dementor looks like other wasps, flies like other wasps. But it has a particular appetite for cockroaches and a somewhat unique sting. 
 
 "A. dementor hunts cockroaches, injecting a venom into the mass of neurons on its prey's belly that turns the roach into a passive zombie," the World Wildlife Fund wrote in a statement. "Cockroach wasp venom blocks receptors of the neurotransmitter octopamine, which is involved in the initiation of spontaneous movement." 
 
 The roach loses control of its movements, as though it were stoned drunk, and the wasp schlepps it off to a quiet place where it feasts upon it. 
 
 The spine-chilling hunting method piqued the imagination of museum goers, who found it befitting of the Harry Potter ghoul's name. 
 
 A PR hit 
 
 The naming contest in May 2014 was a piece of publicity intended to generate more public interest in the discovery. 
 
 "I am convinced that events like this increase people's curiosity about local and global fauna and nature," said researcher Michael Ohl, who worked on the contest. He hoped it would garner more attention for conservation efforts. 
 
 It worked. 
 
 Though the bug was one of 139 new species discovered in the Mekong last year, including one new mammal, the "dementor" moniker got quick media coverage -- though some of the other animals discovered were perhaps, well, way cooler. 
 
 After all, other wasps also sting their prey into paralysis -- albeit with a less dramatic effect. 
 
 Long-fanged bat 
 
 That mammal, for example, was a bat with shark-like choppers. That got it the name "Long-Fanged Bat," in science Latin "Hypsugo dolichodon." 
 
 Beautiful photo of a new bat species from Laos & Vietnam: http://t.co/CDJntgWa9Y via @mongabay pic.twitter.com/K19Youj6vq — SDU-VT Lab (@SDUVTLab) May 27, 2015 
 
 There was even another insect that could have easily upstaged the new wasp -- an almost two-foot long stick bug, the second largest insect on record. Its name, "Phryganistria heusii yentuensis," doesn't exactly glide off the tip of the tongue. 
 
 Also, who hasn't heard of a "stick bug" already? 
 
 "Color-Changing Thorny Frog" is a catchy name, and it has a cool survival gimmick, too. At night, "Gracixalus lumarius" is pink and yellow, but during the day its back turns a dull brown to camouflage it. 
 
 The Color-Changing Thorny Frog is bright at night, camouflaged during the day 
 
 The bent-toed gecko probably got some kind of a door prize. Not for the name but for becoming exactly the 10,000th reptile species known to science, according to the WWF. 
 
 But with the Harry Potter name, the "Soul-Sucking Dementor" made top-ten lists and headed up the WWF's roster of the 139 new discoveries. When the WWF tweeted it out at J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling), she retweeted it the same day. 
 
 It's hard for any other creature alive to beat that branding. ||||| Taxonomy, the science of describing and naming of the living world, is recognized as an important and relevant field in modern biological science. While there is wide agreement on the importance of a complete inventory of all organisms on Earth, the public is partly unaware of the amount of known and unknown biodiversity. Out of the enormous number of undescribed (but already recognized) species in natural history museum collections, we selected an attractive example of a wasp, which was presented to museum visitors at a special museum event. We asked 300 visitors to vote on a name for the new species and out of four preselected options, Ampulex dementor Ohl n. sp. was selected. The name, derived from the ‘soul sucking’ dementors from the popular Harry Potter books is an allusion to the wasps' behavior to selectively paralyze its cockroach prey. In this example, public voting on a scientific name has been shown to be an appropriate way to link museum visitors emotionally to biodiversity and its discovery. 
 
 It seems to be widely unknown within society that the majority of global species richness still awaits discovery [15] – [17] . At the current pace, about 18,000 new species of organisms are described each year [5] . In the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin (MfN), one of the largest natural history museums in the world, efforts have been made to engage visitors in the museum's activities in biodiversity research. This includes programs to give visitors insights into the significance and processes of current taxonomic or biodiversity initiatives at the MfN and elsewhere (e.g. the MfN hosts the National Focal Point of the Global Taxonomy Initiative: http://www.gti-kontaktstelle.de/en and was the national organiser of the World Wide Views on Biodiversity in Germany in September 2012: http://www.wwviews-biodiversity.naturkundemuseum-berlin.de/ ). Here we report on another activity not only to inform visitors about taxonomy, but also to connect people emotionally to biodiversity and its discovery. During a Berlin-wide “Long Night of the Museums” (LNoM) in 2012, we set up several activities in order to inform visitors about the rules, principles and also the pleasures of naming newly discovered species. We also invited museum visitors to vote on the name of an undescribed species of wasp, which we herein formally describe. 
 
 Since the beginning of formal taxonomic description in the 18 th century, taxonomic names have been formed on the basis of Latin or Greek words [12] . As a result, at least basic knowledge of classical languages has been perceived as a significant component of taxonomic work [13] . The use of classical languages and rigorous traditional naming procedures contribute to the alienation of the people from this aspect of nature [14] . In past decades, public engagement particularly within natural history museums through citizen science, amateur naturalists, and public exhibitions, has considerably changed the perception, outlook, and application of taxonomy. 
 
 Taxonomy is an interesting and popular endeavor. It has recently been the subject of a lively discussion on how to improve its standing and perception in science and society [1] – [4] . One of the most important challenges facing taxonomy is how to communicate its importance in solving some of the most important global problems, e.g., health, global food, and conservation [5] . Today, professional taxonomic work, at least in Middle Europe and parts of North America, is mainly conducted in natural history museums, where it is based on enormous comparative collections [6] – [8] . Physical and digital natural history collections are a critical resource for understanding biodiversity and the biodiversity crisis [9] – [11] . This approach is even more important because natural history museums are not only scientific institutions, but also one of the most popular, competent, and successful organizations for the transfer of scientific content to the public. Natural history museums all over the world engage in setting up specific exhibition and presentation formats to communicate current aspects of biodiversity research, conservation, and discovery to the public. 
 
 One or more particular specimens, on which a formal species description is based. A holotype is an individual specimen, either the only available specimen or selected out of a series, to which a given species name is attached. If one species is later considered to be composed of actually more than one species, the species, to which the holotype belongs, keeps the previous name. 
 
 The electronic edition of this article conforms to the requirements of the amended International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, and hence the new names contained herein are available under that Code from the electronic edition of this article. This published work and the nomenclatural acts it contains have been registered in ZooBank, the online registration system for the ICZN. The ZooBank LSIDs (Life Science Identifiers) can be resolved and the associated information viewed through any standard web browser by appending the LSID to the prefix “ http://zoobank.org/ ”. The LSID for this publication is: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B0F2FFEC-A89E-4A99-B39A-C30C26260B65. The electronic edition of this work was published in a journal with an ISSN, and has been archived and is available from the following digital repositories: PubMed Central, LOCKSS. 
 
 On a large video screen we displayed a high-resolution image of a colorful, undescribed species of cockroach wasp of the genus Ampulex from Thailand. We informed the visitors, that we intended to describe and name it and that they were asked to vote for the species name to be published. We handed out a ballot with a few explanations on the necessity to select an appropriate name for the newly discovered wasp. In order to avoid large numbers of linguistically incorrectly formed and, thus, inappropriate names, we decided to provide a list of four preselected names. These four names were selected to represent different linguistic kinds of names, but in all cases, we made sure that the names were meaningfully and comprehensibly derived from the species to be described ( Tab. 1 ). 
 
 The new species exhibits some characters unique within the group of species in Ampulex with a general ant-like appearance and red-black coloration with marked wings. It is most similar to another species in the genus, described from Sri Lanka (A. ceylonica Krombein, 1979). The two have the first two upper plates (terga) of the metasoma (the body section behind the waps-waist) markedly shining, but the sides of the second tergum is dull due to numerous tiny dimples (micropunctures). The two species can be readily distinguished by the vertex, the area of the upper head mainly behind the three simple eyes (ocelli), which is microsculptured and dull in both species, but with only a few indistinct larger punctures in the new species and many, deep and clearly defined punctures in A. ceylonica. The two are also different in the morphology of the frons, the head area below the three ocelli. In the new species, the frons has markedly developed longitudinal wrinkles (rugulae) for almost all of its length, whereas in A. ceylonica, the frons is indistinctly wrinkled near the lower margin of the frons. Finally, the new species is known from Thailand only, whereas A. ceylonica has been exclusively recorded from Sri Lanka. 
 
 Ampulicidae, or cockroach wasps, comprise 200 already named species in six genera, which occur mainly in tropical habitats of all continents [20] . With more than 130 species, the genus Ampulex is the largest genus in the Ampulicidae [21] . One of its representatives is Ampulex compressa (Fabricius, 1781), which has become popular for successfully being cultured in zoos and privately [22] . Its popularity is due to its relatively large body size, beautiful metallic coloration and easily observable and attractive prey stinging and nesting behavior [23] . 
 
 Apoid or digger wasps, a diverse group of stinging wasps with about 10,000 species already known [18] , are particularly diverse and unexplored in Southeast Asia. Among the many undescribed species of which we are already aware and which are deposited in Berlin's museum collection, we selected a member of the cockroach-hunting wasp genus Ampulex Jurine from Thailand in the family Ampulicidae. It belongs to an ant-mimicking group of species with attractive coloration and rather bizarre habitus ( Figs 1 , 2 ) and probably also behavior. We expected this genus to attract attention and interest in museum visitors. The specimen was obtained in the course of the TIGER-project (Thailand Inventory Group of Entomological Research), an inventory of Thailand's insects initiated by Michael S. Sharkey from the University of Kentucky, USA. Details of the TIGER-project can be found here: http://sharkeylab.org/tiger/ . We have published preliminary results of our analysis of the Thai apoid wasp fauna based on the TIGER material earlier [19] . 
 
 Discussion 
 
 Society should be concerned not only with the loss of biodiversity but also with its still unexplored richness. Current trends towards an integrative taxonomy, which incorporates a large variety of mainly molecular methods [24], have professionalized and modernized taxonomy. Independent of the technologies employed to delimit species, scientific names, which are based on a common system of nomenclature, are the universal key to biodiversity [25]. ‘When we want to remember something, we give it a name’ [26]. Names are linguistic tags, which are attached to bundles of information, data and hypotheses in order to ease communication about the named entities. Discovering and formally describing species is, thus, a twofold process [27]: the taxonomic research process results in a set of evidence for the hypothetical existence of a certain biological unit, usually a species, which in a subsequent step is formally named. A scientific name and its formal publication have to meet several requirements, which in zoology are organized by the ‘International Code of Zoological Nomenclature’ (http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted-sites/iczn/code/). Names as linguistic tags for information on a species are arbitrarily formed, but may have an etymological meaning. 
 
 The two parts of the process of species description are fundamentally different and require specific background knowledge to be accessed by non-experts. Species delimitation in modern integrative taxonomy is mostly based on large comparative collections housed in natural history museums, genetic data and morphological information often gained by high-technology imaging systems like μ-computer tomography [28]. The percentage of non-professional taxonomists particularly in entomology is still relatively high [29], but species delimitation and hypothesis formation in taxonomy is a scientifically challenging endeavor and requires scientific knowledge. 
 
 In contrast, the naming aspect of taxonomy is different and particularly suitable for communicating the process of species discovery to the public. Based on our experiences, ‘public naming’ of newly discovered species is a suitable means of visitor participation in one of the core disciplines of a natural history museum, the discovery of biodiversity. Today's rules for the formation of scientific names are still partly based on the principles of classical languages, e.g., names are usually Latinized in terms of their endings. It can be expected that the widely decreasing knowledge of classical Latin and Greek in society might serve as a psychological hindrance with regards to engagement in taxonomy. However, it can easily be demonstrated that the formation of names based on modern linguistic elements is an easy task and requires knowledge of very few rules. As an example, we have latinized visitor names together with the visitors to form patronyms. 
 
 There are other approaches for involving the public in biological naming processes, which have raised broad publicity. One was a competition for common names of endangered species in Britain, another is the auctioning or selling of naming rights. In 2010, the British newspaper “The Guardian” in collaboration with “Natural England”, a non-departmental public body of the UK government responsible for protecting and developing England's natural environment, and the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, has launched a similar, but in many respects different initiative [30]. The general public was asked to submit self-constructed common names, potentially including humor, national history and any other aspect, for an endangered British click-beetle, Megapenthes lugens (Redtenbacher, 1842). The underlying expectation was that such an initiative would raise awareness of a part of Britain's fauna, which is poorly known and often overlooked by the public. The competition was later expanded to the naming of ten endangered species of organisms in Britain, and the judging panel received more than 3,000 entries. The results were made public by “The Guardian” only a few weeks later, and the naming initiative has been received as a way to build up “a cultural connection that will help their conservation cause” [31]. The major difference to our approach is that the public could be asked to construct totally new names out of colloquial language, because it was a competition for common names. Scientific name forming is different in being at least partly based on classical languages, which cannot expect the public to be familiar with, and in the need being compliant with the rules of nomenclature. Therefore, we decided to propose a list of candidate names to prevent uncontrolled submission of formally unsuitable names. This also differs from our approach in that the British common name initiative had a panel of judges, rather than the general public, select the final name. In our approach, we chose a variety of names and the public voted for the one they preferred. However, the case of the “Queen's executioner beetle”, which was the winning name, is another mechanism for connecting biodiversity to the general public. 
 
 Since the 17th century, new species have frequently been named after sponsors of the expedition which found the unnamed specimens or after other people supporting the authors' research. In this context, dedicated species names have always been exploited to bring the sponsors' name to the public in order to bind sponsors to the organisms named after them and, often more relevant, to the describing researcher or to the conservation project in the relevant area. Naming species after sponsors has always been accompanied by the expectation that the sponsor will continue funding the project or the scientist. From here it is only a short step to sell or auction naming rights [32]. As an example, the discoverer of a new species of tit monkey from the Madidi National Park in Bolivia auctioned off the naming right in a blind internet auction on the internet, which received significant publicity. The auction was won by the Internet Casino Goldenpalace.com with a bid of US$ 650.000. They chose the common name Golden Palace Monkey, which was latinized and formally published as Callicebus aureipalatii Wallace, 2005. The entire sum of money raised was provided to the Bolivian Park Service to run the Madidi National Park. Due to the large amount of money and a casino involved, this unusual example of auctioning naming rights has received much attention from the public. Many taxonomists around the world have successfully auctioned naming rights for their newly discovered species, most of them for significantly smaller amounts of money. In 1998, a German non-profit initiative named “BIOPAT” set up an internet broking platform for selling naming rights [33]. Taxonomists can present their new species to the public and offer potential donors the opportunity to sponsor a newly discovered animal or plant species and of giving this a scientific name of their own choice. Half of the money raised is provided to support nature conservation initiatives in the country of the origin of the new species, and half is used to promote the describer's further research activities in taxonomy. The ethical implications of “selling” names are still a controversial issue among taxonomists [32]. Besides the ethical implications, there is also a barrier for most people to participate because of the cost. Thus, selling a name will unlikely link as many people emotionally to a single new species as the method employed here. 
 
 Our public voting of a taxonomic name was received very positively. Visitors were highly interested and during the event spent a significant amount of time asking for details and listening to explanations. We prepared 300 ballots in advance, of which about 90% were returned (Tab. 2). Even this is already a remarkable high return rate, many more visitors were interested in participating. Upon request, visitors clearly indicated a personal bond to the species to be named and curiosity regarding this unexpected opportunity to participate in the naming process. Even more, some visitors also pointed out that having been involved in the naming process of the new wasp species had changed their personal perception of insects and this unexplored part of nature in a positive way. It has been shown previously, that a positive general perception of previously ignored or even rejected organisms can add to calls for better conservation management [34]. We are aware that visitors to a natural history museum are a biased population, because they are more likely to be interested in natural history, have higher education levels, and to be aware of the relevant content [35]. However by creating direct opportunities for participation in the discovery of new species for the public, we help visitors feel like partners and co-owners of the content of the museum [36] and the global ‘Catalog of Life’. Although we have here selected a species with attractive outlook and behaviors, we are convinced that a similar public approach would be applicable to any organism as long as it is presented in an attractive manner. In summary, our public name voting shows that public engagement in natural history museums, through citizen science, amateur naturalists, public activities and participation, can contribute to bringing the perception, outlook, application, and appreciation of taxonomy back to its roots – the people's science. ||||| Warning! At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery. Spoilers will be present within the article. 
 
 "Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them... Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself... soulless and evil. You will be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life." —Remus Lupin's description of Dementors[src] 
 
 A Dementor is a gliding, wraith-like Dark creature, widely considered to be one of the foulest to inhabit the world. Dementors feed on human happiness and thus generate feelings of depression and despair in any person in close proximity to them. They can also consume a person's soul, leaving their victims in a permanent vegetative state, and thus are often referred to as "soul-sucking fiends", rendering a person an 'empty-shell'.[2] Dementors were closely associated with Azkaban, as they were formerly employed by the British Ministry of Magic as the prison guards, and were not known to permanently inhabit any other location. 
 
 The Dementors of Azkaban were under the employ of the Ministry until mid-1996, when Lord Voldemort was sighted in the Ministry, and their defection to the Dark Lord's cause became undeniable. The Dementors supposedly led the Death Eaters and Voldemort into the Ministry of Magic.[3] After the end of the Second Wizarding War in 1998, the Ministry was re-formed, and newly-appointed Minister for Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt ensured that they were not used by the government again, presumably due to their changing allegiance and support of Voldemort, and due to ethical reforms in the Ministry and Wizarding society at large.[4] 
 
 There are certain defences one can use against Dementors, specifically the Patronus Charm. Dementors hold no true loyalty, except to whoever can provide them with the most people to feed on. They seemingly cannot be destroyed, though their numbers can be limited if the conditions in which they multiply are prevented from forming, implying that they do die off eventually.[4] 
 
 Contents show] 
 
 History 
 
 Early history 
 
 "Those who entered to investigate refused afterwards to talk of what they had found inside, but the least frightening part of it was that the place was infested with dementors." —J. K. Rowling on the early history of Azkaban[src] 
 
 The history of Dementors in relation to Wizarding society in Britain is inextricably tied up with one location: Azkaban . The island in the North Sea on which the wizard prison is built has never appeared on any map, wizard or Muggle . Perhaps its first resident, or even creator, Ekrizdis , practised the worst kinds of Dark magic and constructed a fortress on the island, luring Muggle sailors there to torture and murder them. After his death, the various concealment charms placed on the island faded, and the Ministry became aware of the mysterious site's existence. 
 
 Those who entered the deserted fortress to investigate discovered, among other horrors, an infestation of Dementors. Fearing the reprisal of these dark entities should anyone try to evict them, the Ministry decided to let the sizeable colony remain, unmolested and unchecked. 
 
 When Damocles Rowle was elected Minister for Magic in 1718, he insisted on utilising Azkaban's dark pedigree, seeing the Dementors as a potential asset: putting them to work as guards would save expense, time, and lives. This plan was eventually put into motion and, despite protests, Azkaban remained the prison of the wizarding world right up until the Second Wizarding War, mostly because of its near-zero breakout rate. From that point on, the Dementors served the Ministry of Magic as the guards of Azkaban, as the arrangement allowed them to feed on the emotions of the prisoners within its walls. Somewhere between 1733 and 1747, Minister Eldritch Diggory visited Azkaban and was horrified at the sheer despair and insanity that the Dementors induced within the prisoners. He formed a committee to find alternative solutions, the least of which was to remove the Dementors, which met opposition from those who feared a mainland invasion by the dark creatures if they were deprived of their food source. Alas, Diggory died of Dragon Pox while in office, and thus the campaign to find an alternative to Azkaban's Dementors stalled. Though their primary function was to guard Azkaban, Dementors also performs other services for the Ministry, such as being sent to guard other locations, escort prisoners to trial or even hunt down certain criminals. 
 
 Although many in the wizarding world felt they could sleep easy at night in the knowledge that Dementors guarded Azkaban, making it virtually impossible for dangerous criminals to escape, some believed the Dementors to be inherently fickle and untrustworthy, fearing a potential change in allegiances should a dark wizard arise who might offer them more promising compensation than the Ministry. Albus Dumbledore, in particular, thought it was a mistake for the Ministry to ever ally with such creatures, though Alastor Moody thought violent criminals such as Death Eaters deserved such treatment.[5] 
 
 1993-1994 
 
 "When they get near me — I can hear Voldemort murdering my mum." —Harry Potter on the Dementors' effect on him[src] 
 
 During the 1993-1994 school year, Dementors were sent to guard Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry against "mass murderer" Sirius Black, who had recently escaped from Azkaban in 1993. On the Hogwarts Express, Harry Potter had his first encounter with a Dementor. Whenever brought into close proximity with one, Harry was forced to relive his worst memory: hearing the last moments of his parents' lives before they were murdered by Lord Voldemort. 
 
 The first of these encounters was on the Hogwarts Express, during which he was protected by the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin. While the Dementors were at Hogwarts, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore refused to let them enter the School Grounds but was unable to prevent their presence entirely, and so warned his students to give the Dementors no reason to harm them. So dangerous did Dumbledore consider them to be that, even when Sirius Black was found to have entered the school, he refused to let them search or enter the castle. 
 
 Harry endured a second encounter with a group of Dementors during a Quidditch match, causing him to lose consciousness and suffer a fall from his broom. He was that time rescued by Dumbledore, who slowed Harry's fall and then drove the Dementors away with a Patronus. They had a particularly bad effect on Harry due to his miserable childhood and plentiful bad memories.[2] Professor Lupin later claimed that the atmosphere of excitement during a Quidditch Match would be like a feast to the Dementors, which they were unable to resist. 
 
 To overcome the Dementors, Harry asked Lupin for assistance. Lupin began teaching Harry the Patronus Charm, using a Boggart, which transformed into a Dementor in front of Harry. During the next Quidditch match Harry competed in, four Slytherins, Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and Marcus Flint, disguised themselves as Dementors to distract Harry. Although not yet capable of producing a fully formed patronus, Harry was able to perform the spell well enough to thwart their attempts and won the match, after which Professor Minerva McGonagall sentenced the offending students to detention and deducted fifty House Points from Slytherin. 
 
 Harry's next encounter with the Dementors came when he, Hermione, and Sirius were attacked by a group of them in the Forbidden Forest; the three were saved by the intervention of a powerful and fully formed Patronus before the Dementors were able to take their souls via the Dementor's Kiss (defined below). Though initially believed (by Harry) to be the Patronus of his deceased father, this Patronus had in fact been conjured by Harry himself, who had travelled back in time with Hermione Granger using her Time-Turner[2] (this technically counts as both Harry's third and fourth encounter with the Dementors, since, due to his time travelling, he experienced this same encounter twice). Harry's Patronus took the form of a stag, which was both the form his father's Patronus took and the form his father took as an Animagus. Because the Dementors tried to Kiss Harry during this encounter in the Forest, it was enough to convince the Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge to have the Dementors removed from Hogwarts at the end of the school year. Dumbledore seemed very happy about this. 
 
 1994-1995 
 
 "The Dementors will join us, they are our natural allies...." —Lord Voldemort talking to his Death Eaters[src] 
 
 1995-1996 
 
 Harry met an apparent Dementor in the Triwizard Tournament; thinking that it was a real Dementor he conjured the Patronus Charm, and soon the Dementor stumbled and then Harry knew it was a boggart and soon cried 'Riddikulus'. 
 
 Harry's fifth encounter was in an alley near his home on Privet Drive, when he and his cousin, Dudley Dursley, were ambushed by two Dementors sent secretly and illegally by Dolores Umbridge. He successfully used the Patronus Charm and was subsequently rescued by a Squib named Arabella Figg. Harry was put on trial for his use of underage magic, but ultimately was not punished, as it was recognised as having been self-defence. Nearly a year later Umbridge admitted the plan to attack and undermine Harry using the Dementors.[6] 
 
 By July 1996, all of the Dementors of Azkaban collectively rebelled against their employers to join Lord Voldemort, who offered them more victims and free rein across the country. This aided the 1996 and 1997 escapes of Death Eaters from Azkaban.[6] By mid-1996, the Dementors who had joined Voldemort were multiplying in such quantities as to generate an 'unseasonal' July mist, noticeable to both the Muggle and wizarding worlds alike. Cornelius Fudge also admitted they were factors in the British Prime Minister's recent decline in terms of public approval, as they were making people less happy in general.[3] 
 
 1997-1998 
 
 "The air around them had frozen: Harry's breath caught and solidified in his chest. Shapes moved out in the darkness, swirling figures of concentrated blackness, moving in a great wave towards the castles, their faces hooded and their breath rattling...." —Dementors join the Battle of Hogwarts[src] 
 
 During the 1997 infiltration of the Ministry of Magic, while Harry Potter was disguised as Albert Runcorn, he encountered the Dementors in the Muggle-Born Registration Commission courtroom, where they were used to take away convicted Muggle-borns after interrogation and to terrorise them during interrogation. Dolores Umbridge protected herself and the other questioners with a cat Patronus, which dissipated when Harry stunned her. Harry and Hermione then performed the charm to save the Muggle-borns who had yet to be interrogated from the Dementors. 
 
 After Apparating to Hogsmeade, Harry, Ron, and Hermione set off a Caterwauling Charm and hid under Harry's Invisibility Cloak. Unable to find them the Death Eaters dispatched Dementors to attack the trio, as Dementors sensed the presence of others and did not rely on sight. Harry was forced to cast his Patronus to protect the trio from being kissed. They could not Disapparate due to an Anti-Disapparition Jinx placed on the village and were stuck (caterwauling charm). Harry drove away the Dementors, but almost gave the three away, as his patrounus was very distinctive, Aberforth Dumbledore saved them and passed off Harry's stag as his own goat Patronus and ushered the trio into his pub. 
 
 Later, during the Battle of Hogwarts, the Dementors fought on the side of Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley were attacked by large numbers of Dementors, and due to the horrific events they had experienced and witnessed, including the recent death of Fred Weasley, they all had difficulty summoning their Patronuses. In fact, Harry welcomed the fate that came with a Dementor's kiss, but Seamus Finnigan, Luna Lovegood, and Ernie Macmillan attacked the Dementors with their own Patronuses holding them at bay and encouraged Harry to do the same, allowing him to finally summon his Patronus, which caused the Dementors to scatter. Later, Harry encountered more Dementors in the Forbidden Forest, but the presence of James, Lily, Sirius and Remus, summoned through the Resurrection Stone, shielded him from them.[7] 
 
 Post 1998 
 
 After the Second Wizarding War, the Ministry of Magic became headed by former-Auror and Order of the Phoenix member Kingsley Shacklebolt. Due to their actions during the war (allowing Death Eaters to escape back to Voldemort and joining forces with him themselves), Shacklebolt disbanded the Dementors as guards of the wizard prison. It is unknown where they went or what they did without their only known application. After the Dementors were removed from the prison, Aurors were placed in the prison as guards. 
 
 Description 
 
 Appearances 
 
 Dementors have a humanoid shape, approximately three metres, or 10 feet high, and are covered in dark hooded cloaks of long ripped black cloth, making them closely resemble wraiths. Its body is greyed and decayed looking, like a decomposing corpse, and its breath sounds rattling like it is trying to "suck more than air" out of a room. Its hands are "glistening, greyish, slimy-looking, and scabbed". They seem to exude cold. 
 
 A Dementor's face has empty eye sockets, covered with scabbed skin. There is a gaping large hole where the mouth should be, which is used for sucking the soul out of the victim in a process called the Dementor's Kiss, leaving victims in a state generally considered worse than death. The Dementor pulls back its hood and sucks out its victim's soul, leaving the person an empty shell, alive but completely, irretrievably 'gone'. They are described as being able to glide over the ground only, and in any case, they cannot pass through solid obstacles.[2] 
 
 Dementors are also known to be blind, as they do not have eyes. However, they can sense whether a presence is near them or not, by sensing the victim's emotions. 
 
 Nature and behaviour 
 
 He felt the unnatural cold begin to steal over the street. Light was sucked from the environment right up to the stars, which vanished... The cold was biting deeper and deeper into Harry's flesh... Then, around the corner, gliding noiselessly, came Dementors, ten or more of them, visible because they were of a denser darkness than their surroundings, with their black cloaks and their scabbed and rotting hands. Could they sense fear in the vicinity? Harry was sure of it: They seemed to be coming more quickly now, taking those dragging, rattling breaths he detested, tasting despair on the air, closing in —" —Description of Dementors as they close in[src] 
 
 Dementors seem to suck all the light and happiness from the air as they draw long rattling breaths, and cause darkness to close in everywhere and the victim to feel incredibly cold. They can glide toward a victim without sound. 
 
 Their sapience is heavily debated: they are sentient enough to taste and sense fear, being drawn to it and the promise of positive memories that it can feed off of. They are also intelligent enough to be greedy: they obeyed the Ministry of Magic for years because, in guarding Azkaban, they were provided with the sustenance of any remaining hope or happiness in the prisoners. They can understand and follow at least simple instructions, which allowed a Dementor to act as a bodyguard to Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge in 1995,[5] and for them to escort prisoners in and out of the Muggle-Born Registration Commission courtroom in 1997.[7] They could also communicate what they had heard Sirius Black saying in his sleep to the Ministry in 1993, implying that they can speak or otherwise communicate with wizards. 
 
 On the other hand, Albus Dumbledore describes Dementors as vicious creatures and that they won't ever differentiate between those they are hunting and those that stand in their way. He also informs the students to give Dementors no reason to harm them, saying that forgiveness is not in a Dementor's nature. Moreover, they reportedly have no soul of their own (though it could be argued that "soulless" is merely figurative in this instance). 
 
 Outside of Azkaban, Dementors appear to hunt for prey in groups of variable size, from as small as two to as large as greater than twenty. They appear to attack by first surrounding their targets, cutting off any escape, then descending upon them all at once to feed. 
 
 Abilities 
 
 "They don't need walls and water to keep the prisoners in, not when they're trapped inside their own heads, incapable of a single cheerful thought. Most go mad within weeks." —Remus Lupin on Azkaban prisoners' long-term exposure to Dementors[src] 
 
 Being blind, Dementors sense and feed on the positive emotions of human beings in order to survive, forcing their victims to relive their worst memories over and over again. The very presence of a Dementor can make the victim's surrounding atmosphere grow cold and dark, and as the number of Dementors increase, so do the effects. Those that are kept in the company of a Dementor for too long tend to become depressed, and are often driven insane, which was the main source of Azkaban 's well-deserved horrible reputation when they still guarded its prisoners. After spending only a few months there, Rubeus Hagrid claims he wished he would die in his sleep.For this reason, they are considered some of the foulest creatures on Earth. 
 
 Dementors rely fully on their ability to sense emotion and physical and/or mental health to track the movements of the prisoners in their care, and are generally unable to distinguish one person from another if both are in similar physical or mental condition. They were unable to identify Mrs Crouch being sneaked into Azkaban disguised as Bartemius Crouch Jr using Polyjuice Potion, or Barty Crouch Jr being sneaked out disguised as his mother, since both were ill nearly to the point of death, as divulged by Bartemius Crouch Jr under the influence of Veritaserum in 1995 (though it may be that they simply did not care who they were sucking happiness from so long as they were "fed"). They are genderless and don't mate, they grow like fungus where there is decay. 
 
 Dementors seemingly don't feel and recognise animal emotions in the same way as human emotions. When Sirius Black, an Animagus, was imprisoned in Azkaban in his dog form before his eventual successful escape also as a dog, his emotions were less human. The Dementors could feel there was a difference in his emotions when he changed his form, but they didn't understand why there was such a difference; they simply thought he was losing his mind. 
 
 Although Muggles cannot see Dementors, they are affected in a way similar to wizards and witches, becoming depressed when near them.[6] While at least one Squib, Arabella Figg, has claimed to see a Dementor,[6] the truth is that Squibs cannot see them, but have enough magical knowledge to identify their effects.[8] 
 
 After Bartemius Crouch Jr's mother died in Azkaban, Dementors buried her body, which shows that Dementors are capable of physical labour, such as grave-digging. Also, Sirius escaped when the Dementors came to give food, another sort of labour. 
 
 It is stated by Remus Lupin that, if a wizard remains in close contact with Dementors for an extended period of time, a Dementor can drain a wizard of his powers. This fact is not expounded upon, so the truth to this statement is unknown. If this is the case, however, it would make Dementors the only known being to permanently render a wizard without magic. Lupin might also mean this metaphorically, as severe depression, which is caused by prolonged contact with Dementors, can be really detrimental to a wizard's ability to cast spells. 
 
 Dementor's Kiss 
 
 There's no chance at all of recovery. You'll just... exist. As an empty shell. And your soul is gone forever... lost." —Remus Lupin regarding the kiss[src] 
 
 In addition to feeding on positive emotions, Dementors can perform their last and most dangerous ability: the Dementor's Kiss, in which a Dementor latches its mouth onto a victim's and sucks out the person's soul.[2] The victim is left as an empty shell, incapable of thought and with no possibility of recovery. It is believed that existing after a Dementor's Kiss is worse than death: as a person's soul is their true self, to be 'kissed' by a Dementor is to cease to exist, and yet also remain. The Ministry of Magic occasionally allowed this as a punishment, before Kingsley Shacklebolt became Minister for Magic. It is unknown what effect a Dementor's Kiss would have on a person who had split his or her soul through the use of a Horcrux. It is also possible that the soul is trapped inside the Dementor, thus the victim is unable to pass on. This is probably what "worse than death" is. 
 
 The only known named victim of the Kiss is Barty Crouch Jr. From 1994 to 1995 Crouch had been using polyjuice potion to pose as Alastor Moody, and had been teaching at Hogwarts in his stead; he was detained at the castle, awaiting trial, after his ploy was discovered, and it emerged that he had been working in secret for Voldemort. He was subjected to the punishment by a Dementor accompanying Cornelius Fudge as a bodyguard.[5] The unfortunate consequence of this act was that it rendered Crouch unable to testify about his master's return, allowing Voldemort almost a full year to gather strength while the Ministry continued in its denial. 
 
 Protection from Dementors 
 
 Patronus Charm 
 
 Main article: Patronus Charm 
 
 A Patronus is a kind of positive force, and for the wizard who can conjure one, it works something like a shield, with the Dementor feeding on it, rather than him." —Remus Lupin regarding what a Patronus is[src] 
 
 No one has ever demonstrated the ability to kill a Dementor, by Avada Kedavra or otherwise, implying that they can not be killed through physical means, but can only be driven away or temporarily kept at bay. One of the few ways to shield oneself from Dementors is by the very difficult Patronus Charm.[2] The charm summons a Patronus, a magical manifestation of good will and happiness, providing varied levels of protection against the Dementors' influence, based on the caster's strength as a wizard. With sufficient ability, a single wizard can hold off dozens, if not hundreds, of Dementors with a single corporeal Patronus, as Harry Potter demonstrated during his third year at Hogwarts when he drove off a horde of Dementors seeking to consume Hermione Granger, Sirius Black, and Harry's past selves.[2] 
 
 As the Patronus is not alive, the Dementor cannot feed on it. Only when summoned by an experienced caster will the Patronus take the form of an animal significant in some way to the individual. While the lower level Patronus is more amorphous and ephemeral, corporeal Patronuses chase down Dementors and force them to flee the vicinity.[6] An incorporeal Patronus only slows a Dementor down,[2] as if the creature is walking through quicksand, and tends not to last long, but could eventually give the caster time to escape. 
 
 Other 
 
 Since Dementors cannot properly sense the less complex thoughts and emotions of a person when he or she takes on an Animagus form, doing so allowed some, such as Sirius Black, to temporarily avoid feeling the effects of the Dementors' presence.[2] When they sensed the less-than-human thoughts of his Animagus form, the Dementors simply thought Sirius was losing his mind. 
 
 The effects of a Dementor's happiness-draining powers can also be resisted if one focuses not on happy thoughts, but on obsessions, or other things that give one strength without exactly making one feel better. For example, Sirius managed to avoid going mad in the Dementors' custody and eventually plan an escape by focusing on the fact that he was innocent and didn't belong in Azkaban, and later that Peter Pettigrew was at Hogwarts and that Harry was in danger. 
 
 Though clearly not a common method of repelling Dementors, the enigmatic form people take after being brought back by the Resurrection Stone appears to function much like a Patronus, as the 'resurrected' forms of Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and James and Lily Potter were able to shield Harry Potter from the Dementors that Voldemort had stationed in the Forbidden Forest in 1998. And also, after Harry returned from the brink of life and death, he was so overcome with joy at being alive that the Dementors had no effect on him, showing that if a person is truly happy as he can be, the Dementors main weapon is rendered useless. 
 
 There may be another, more common way of repelling a Dementor, aside from the Patronus Charm, as Harry Potter disagreed with Professor Snape on the best method for confronting one when it was the subject of a report in his sixth year.[3] This implies that there are, indeed, other methods. Probably one of them is reducing the effects and conditions of the habitat that Dementors prefer, which would cause them to be driven away. Other methods may include the use of Felix Felicis to increase a wizard's luck, or with the use of Occlumency to neutralise thoughts and emotions to keep calm and confident, both methods would eventually lead to the point that a wizard could easily cast the Patronus Charm to fend off Dementors. 
 
 The mood-enhancing properties of chocolate are well known in both the Muggle and wizard worlds. Chocolate is the perfect antidote for anyone who has been overcome in the presence of Dementors, which suck hope and happiness out of their surroundings. Chocolate can only be a short-term remedy, however. Finding ways to fight off Dementors — or depression — are essential if one is to become permanently happier. Excessive chocolate consumption cannot benefit either Muggle or wizard.[9] 
 
 Dark Wizards cannot commonly produce Patronuses. However, they do not need to do so in the first place, as they are like-minded in evil. Voldemort even states that they are natural allies. This does not, however, prevent Dementors from imprisoning dark wizards in Azkaban. 
 
 Etymology 
 
 The English word dementor is used generically to refer to any evil or fearsome creature. The word ultimately derives from the Latin dēmens, meaning "insane". 
 
 Behind the scenes 
 
 Portrayal in the movies 
 
 In the film series, Dementors are portrayed differently compared to how they were described in the books. In the books, they were described as tall hooded humanoid figures, whereas in the films, they appear as skeletal creatures wearing black robes. 
 
 Another notable difference is that the Dementors in the films can fly freely. This aspect was completely absent from the books, where they were merely gliding over the ground. This is most noticeable when the Dementors were intruding the first Quidditch match in the Prisoner of Azkaban. In the book, the Dementors were described as standing in the stadium, while in the film, they were purposefully pursuing a broomstick-riding Harry Potter. Because of this, the corporeal Patronus Charm in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban seems to work differently by sending a pulse at the Dementors flying in the air rather than charging at them on the ground. 
 
 Furthermore, the Dementors from the films appear to have a much more drastic effect on the environment compared to their book counterparts. In the films, the nearby surroundings of a Dementor are immediately covered by a layer of ice and any plant in the vicinity almost instantly withers away. The only explicit effect the book described Dementors were having in the environment is that they are accompanied by a cold mist. The first Dementor Harry encountered in the third film was able to open the Hogwarts Express without touching it, causing it to slide open with a wave of its hand, with some wizards and witches in the films also being able to perform similar feats. Also, the first Dementor seen in the fifth film was able to effortlessly lift Harry off the ground by the neck and pin him to a wall, showing great strength. 
 
 Foreign words for Dementor 
 
 Albanian : "Marroses" 
 
 : "Marroses" Bulgarian: "Диментор" 
 
 "Диментор" Catalan : "Demèntor" (pronounced duh-MEN-toor) 
 
 : "Demèntor" (pronounced duh-MEN-toor) Chinese : Taiwan, Hong Kong : 催狂魔 - cuīkuángmó - "drive-mad devil/demon" China: 摄魂怪 - shèhúnguài - "suck-soul devil/monster" 攝魂怪 in traditional characters 
 
 : Czech : "mozkomor" - "plague of the brain" 
 
 : "mozkomor" - "plague of the brain" Danish: "Dementor" 
 
 "Dementor" Dutch: "Dementor" 
 
 "Dementor" Finnish : "ankeuttaja", from "ankeus" - "drearyness" 
 
 : "ankeuttaja", from "ankeus" - "drearyness" French : "détraqueur" - "that which makes (things) go wrong or break down" 
 
 : "détraqueur" - "that which makes (things) go wrong or break down" German : "Dementor" 
 
 : "Dementor" Georgian : "დემენტორი" (დემენტორები); (pronounced dementori, plural: dementorebi) 
 
 : "დემენტორი" (დემენტორები); (pronounced dementori, plural: dementorebi) Greek: "Παράφρονας" (pronounced "Parafronas") - from Greek "παράφρων" meaning "mentally ill". 
 
 "Παράφρονας" (pronounced "Parafronas") - from Greek "παράφρων" meaning "mentally ill". Hebrew : "סוהרסן" (pronounced "Soharsan", plural: "סוהרסנים", "Soharsanim") - from "סוהר" ("prison warden") and "הרסן" ("destructive") 
 
 : "סוהרסן" (pronounced "Soharsan", plural: "סוהרסנים", "Soharsanim") - from "סוהר" ("prison warden") and "הרסן" ("destructive") Hindi (India): दमपिशाच ( damapishācha or dampishāch ) - from Sanskrit dama = "house" and pishācha (a type of Hindu demon: see pishacha). 
 
 (India): दमपिशाच ( or ) - from Sanskrit = "house" and (a type of Hindu demon: see pishacha). Hungarian: "Dementor" 
 
 "Dementor" Icelandic : "Vitsuga" - The one who sucks out your mind, or sense of anything. 
 
 : "Vitsuga" - The one who sucks out your mind, or sense of anything. Indonesian : "iblis" - "demon of death and happiness remover"; see wikipedia:Iblis 
 
 : "iblis" - "demon of death and happiness remover"; see wikipedia:Iblis Italian : "dissennatore" - "he who takes sanity away", from senno meaning 'mental sanity' 
 
 : "dissennatore" - "he who takes sanity away", from meaning 'mental sanity' Japanese : ディメンター - dimentā 吸魂鬼 - " kyūkonki " - suck-soul ghost/demon (modelled after East Asian words for vampires) 
 
 : Lithuanian : "Psichas" - Mental/Psycho 
 
 : "Psichas" - Mental/Psycho Latvian: Atprātotājs 
 
 Atprātotājs Macedonian: Дементор 
 
 Дементор Norwegian : "Desperant" - One that brings out despair 
 
 : "Desperant" - One that brings out despair Persian: "دیوانه ساز" - Maddening 
 
 "دیوانه ساز" - Maddening Polish: "Dementor" 
 
 "Dementor" Portuguese : Brazilian : "Dementador" European : "Dementor" (plural: "Dementores") 
 
 : Romanian : "Dementor" 
 
 : "Dementor" Russian: "Дементор" (plural: Дементоры) 
 
 "Дементор" (plural: Дементоры) Slovak : "Dementor" 
 
 : "Dementor" Slovenian: "Morakvar" 
 
 "Morakvar" Spanish : "Dementor" 
 
 : "Dementor" Swedish: "Dementor" 
 
 "Dementor" Thai : "ผู้คุมวิญญาณ" - "Poo-khum-win-yarn" - Soul Warden 
 
 : "ผู้คุมวิญญาณ" - "Poo-khum-win-yarn" - Soul Warden Turkish : "Ruh Emici" - "soul-suckers" 
 
 : "Ruh Emici" - "soul-suckers" Ukrainian: " Дементор" (plural: Дементори) 
 
 Дементор" (plural: Дементори) Vietnamese: "giám ngục Azkaban" - "prison guards of Azkaban" 
 
 Appearances 
 
 Dementor. The Harry Potter Wiki has 67 images related to 
 
 See also 
 
 Notes and references 
 
 
 
 
 
 [[de2:Dementor s: ||||| The thorny tree frog's back changes from brownish during the day (left) to yellow at night (right). © Jodi Rowley / Australian Museum 
 
 Colour-Changing Thorny Frog 
 
 Discoverer Jodi Rowley at work. © Chad Minshew 
 
 GRACIXALUS LUMARIUS, VIETNAM 
 
 DISCOVERERS: JODI J.L. ROWLEY, DUONG THI THUY LE, VINH QUANG DAU, HUY DUC HOANG & TRUNG TIEN CAO 
 
 When her then-students Le Thi Thuy Duong and Dau Quang Vinh showed Dr. Jodi Rowley the pictures of a frog covered in “sandpaper” that they had spotted in the forest, she knew they’d discovered something unique. “As soon as I saw the spikes on the back of the male, I knew it was something different to any frog I’d seen before,” said Dr. Rowley. 
 
 
 
 It wasn’t until a year later when she returned with Duong and Vinh to the remote mountain forests of central Vietnam that Dr. Rowley first saw the thorny tree frog in person. The first frog they found was a male surrounded by eggs in a tree hole, making it one of 2 percent of frog species that breed in phytolem, or small bodies of water contained in a plant.37, 38 The tadpoles hatch and fall into the tree’s pool, where they can grow up safe from most of the predators that inhabit larger bodies of water.39 
 
 
 
 The adult frogs are a distinctive combination of pink and yellow – at least at night. During the day, their yellow backs fade to a duller brownish hue. Why and how the frog changes colour is unclear, though the change itself is not uncommon. “Many frog species can change colour depending on time of day, temperature, or even mood,” shared Dr. Rowley. 
 
 
 
 More unusual are the spikes that give the thorny tree frog its name.40, 41 The males’ backs are covered in white conical thorns, giving it the sandpapery look that first caught Duong and Vinh’s eyes. As only the males have spikes, it is thought that they may play a role in mate recognition. Females may recognize males in breeding condition at least in part by how “thorny” they are, according to Dr. Rowley.
– What name is worthy for a ferocious flying insect that swoops down on supposedly indestructible cockroaches, paralyzes them with its devastating sting, then drags them off into a corner to devour them? "Soul-Sucking Dementor" sounded pretty good to visitors at Berlin's Museum fuer Naturkunde. They were offered the chance to crowdsource a moniker for the wasp (official name: Ampulex dementor) discovered last year in Thailand's Mekong region, reports CNN. The inspiration for the name? Creatures in the Harry Potter series that "feed upon human happiness, and thus cause depression and despair to anyone near them … and are known to leave a person as an 'empty-shell.'" Luckily for us, SSD's favorite meal isn't humans, but cockroaches, and it will do whatever it takes to get what it wants—to wit, by pumping venom into its prey's belly until it "turns the roach into a passive zombie," the World Wildlife Fund explains in a press release introducing some of the 139 new species discovered last year in the Greater Mekong. Letting the public choose the wasp's name had a specific purpose, as described in Plos One: "to link museum visitors emotionally to biodiversity and its discovery." The name resonated especially well with one particular person: JK Rowling. The Harry Potter creator, who's been on fire lately on Twitter, retweeted the WWF's post thanking her for the inspiration for the name. (But could the Soul-Sucking Dementor have taken on this monstrous cockroach?)