Where the UK"s wasps have gone and why they need your help
I get twitchy about taking holidays at the end of August, because it's the only time of year when people (and the media) in the UK seem to want to talk about wasps and I have spent my career trying to change people's minds about these fascinating ins.....»»
16 strange new parasitoid wasp species discovered in Vietnam
Researchers at Kyushu University and Vietnam's National Museum of Nature have discovered 16 new species of Loboscelidia, a strange-looking and elusive group of parasitoid wasps. The scientists also reported for the first time the unique parasitic beh.....»»
Bees and wasps use the same architectural solutions to join large hexagons to small hexagons
Bees and wasps have converged on the same architectural solutions to nest-building problems, according to a study by Michael L. Smith in the Department of Biological Sciences at Auburn University, US, and colleagues, published in the open access jour.....»»
Farmer ants and drama-prone wasps in spotlight for their climate adaptation
In the face of environmental challenges, one kind of ant gets better at growing food and an African wasp species may become more cooperative......»»
Wasps harness power of pitcher plants in first-ever observed defense strategy
As the saying goes, "When life gives you lemons, turn that tartness into little translucent balls in which to grow your young." At least, that's how the saying goes for a tiny insect called a cynipid wasp, whose larvae were recently discovered induci.....»»
En garde! Wasps use penis spikes to ward off predators
An accidental sting has helped Japanese scientists prove some male wasps have a rather unusual predator defence weapon: penis spikes......»»
Male wasps use genitalia to sting their predators
Female bees and wasps use modified ovipositors, formerly used in egg laying, to sting their attackers, including people. Now, a study in Current Biology on December 19 shows that male mason wasps use sharp genital spines to attack and sting predatory.....»»
Tracking an invasion: A single Asian hornet may have sparked the ongoing spread across Europe
In Europe, the Asian (or "Yellow-legged") Hornet (Vespa velutina) is a predator of insects such as honeybees, hoverflies, and other wasps, and poses serious risks to apiculture, biodiversity and pollination services. This hornet can measure up to 4 c.....»»
Study discovers microbial communities shift while a coral "sleeps" through the winter
As winter approaches, many species of animals—from bears and squirrels to parasitic wasps and a few lucky humans—hunker down for some needed rest. The northern star coral (Astrangia poculata) also enters a hibernating state of dormancy, or quiesc.....»»
The Big Fight Over 403 Very Small Wasps
Earth is teeming with unknown species, and they’re dying off faster than ever. Now biologists are battling over an old question: how to catalog life?.....»»
Higher temperatures make it difficult for fig tree pollinators
Researchers from Uppsala University and elsewhere have been studying the effect of rising temperatures on the lifespan of pollinating fig wasps. The findings show that the wasps lived much shorter lives at high temperatures, which would make it diffi.....»»
Wasps able to tell the difference between "same" and "different"
A trio of researchers at the University of Michigan has found that paper wasps are able to distinguish between things that are the same or things that are different. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Chloe Weise, Christi.....»»
Five facts about the gruesome beauty of solitary wasps
Most people recognize a wasp as those stripy insects who ruin our summer picnics. They live in huge societies, much the same as the honeybee; you might even have a nest in your loft or shed. But there's a lot more to wasps than these socialites. In f.....»»
Parasitic wasps turn other insects into "zombies," saving millions of humans along the way
Wasps have a reputation for being jerks because of their perceived aggressiveness and ability to sting repeatedly. They're often negatively compared with the honey production and agricultural pollination of bees......»»
New mechanism of parasitoid wasps in avoiding intraspecific competition
Parasitic wasps are natural enemies for effective control over the population of pests in nature. Hence, they are extensively used as green agents of pest control in agriculture and forestry. There are a diversity of parasitic wasps, which have assor.....»»
As autumn approaches here"s why we see more spiders in our houses and why wasps are desperate for sugar
The tell-tale signs that autumn is here are clear to us; the days are getting shorter and the temperature is decreasing. We take this as a sign to pull out our winter woolies and think about turning on the radiators. But how do insects know that wint.....»»
Evolutionary chaos as butterflies, wasps, and viruses have a three-way war
The evolutionary pressures result in some pretty complicated host interactions. Enlarge (credit: iStock / Getty Images) We're currently watching—often in horror—what happens as a virus and its hosts engage in an evolutionary arms race. Me.....»»
Caterpillars borrow weapons from viruses in battle against parasitic wasps
Exactly how the caterpillars are winning this tiny evolutionary arms race is the subject of an article just published in the journal Science by an international research team including scientists from University of Saskatchewan (USask)......»»
Study: Native, city-living bees and wasps thrive in large green spaces, flowering prairies
Converting vacant urban lots into greenspaces can reduce blight and improve neighborhoods, and new research shows that certain types of such post-industrial reclamation efforts offer the added bonus of benefiting bees......»»
Beneficial arthropods find winter sanctuary in uncultivated field edges, study finds
Many species of ground-dwelling beetles, ladybugs, hoverflies, damsel bugs, spiders and parasitic wasps kill and eat pest species that routinely plague farmers, including aphids and corn rootworm larvae and adults. But the beneficial arthropods that.....»»
French "bug farm" thrives on demand for pesticide-free fruit
Farmers in western France are doubling down on an unusual crop: breeding millions of tiny predatory bugs and wasps to protect tomato plants without resorting to the insecticides that consumers are shunning......»»