In what experts have called a “surprising act of altruism,” some wasp colonies are lending their reserve workers to care for in neighboring nests, a study found.
Researchers in the UK studied about 20,000 neotropical paper wasps and their caregivers in 91 different colonies in Panama, including near the canal.
Paper wasps are so named for gray and brown paper-like materials that they produce from a mixture of chewed vegetable fibers and saliva and that they use to build their nests.
The team found that as the colonies became more numerous, the usefulness of individual worker wasps became lower because they had a surplus of labor.
This frees some of the workers to help their more distant relatives who live in smaller, smaller settlements with few workers.
However, such acts are only altruistic and altruistic, because they cost time and energy to the working wasps. They also have marginal benefits.
When the wasps help their distant relatives, the chance increases that the DNA they share will survive with the assisted colony.
In what experts have called a “surprising act of altruism,” some wasp colonies are lending their reserve workers to care for in neighboring nests, a study found. In the picture, a wasp nest of paper
“These wasps can behave like rich family members, helping their secondary cousins,” said author and paper biologist Patrick Kennedy of the University of Bristol.
“If you can’t do much more to help your immediate family, you can turn your attention to the extended family,” he added.
“By helping more distant, needy relatives – those who live next door with fewer caregivers – workers can pass on more copies of their genes in general,” said Bristol co-author and behavioral ecologist Andy Radford. .
“We believe that similar principles of diminished returns could explain seemingly paradoxical acts of altruism in many other social animals.”
Dr. Kennedy added: “The fact that these paper wasps in Central and South America help other colonies is really bizarre when you consider that most wasps, ants and bees are extremely hostile to outsiders.
“To solve this puzzling behavior, we combined mathematical modeling with our detailed field observations. We ended up being stung a lot. But it was worth it, because our results show that working wasps can become redundant at home.
“A wasp on a colony with few larvae, but many other workers become almost useless – the best thing to do is to take care of the larvae of other relatives.”
Researchers in the UK studied about 20,000 neotropical paper wasps (pictured) and their caregivers in 91 different colonies in Panama, including near the canal.
How forms of “altruism” originate in nature has been an open question since the time of naturalist Charles Darwin – since, at first glance, helping others does not seem to provide a way for living beings to transmit them. eyelashes.
However, Professor Radford explained, “In 1964, the legendary biologist WD Hamilton realized the cardinal rule of animal altruism.”
“Generous help for your family, because they share many of your genes. Children of your genes will triumph in the population.
Professor Hamilton had also studied tropical paper wasps – but he was confused when he examined the Polistes wasps in Brazil, when he saw workers leaving their close family in their own nests to help those in the neighboring colonies, who were more closely related.
The new findings, however, explain how paper wasps can afford to help their more distant relatives in certain circumstances – and gain an evolutionary benefit.
The team found that as the colonies became more numerous, the usefulness of individual worker wasps became lower because they had a surplus of labor. This frees some of the workers to help their more distant relatives, who live in smaller settlements nearby, who have few workers.
This study builds on the previous work of co-author of paper and behavioral ecologist Seirian Sumner of University College London, who revealed that more than half of the workers in a Panamanian wasp population were helping in several nests.
“Wasps offer amazing windows to the evolution of altruism,” she said.
“So many things are happening in a wasp’s nest: power struggles, self-sacrifice, groups fighting for a chance to survive.”
“If we want to understand how societies evolve, we should take a deeper look at wasps,” Professor Sumner concluded.
The full results of the study were published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.