In what experts have called a “ surprising act of selflessness, ” some wasp colonies are lending their spare workers to babysit neighboring nests, a study finds.
Researchers from the UK studied some 20,000 neotropical baby wasps and their keepers from 91 different colonies in Panama, including near the canal.
Paper wasps are so named for the gray and brown paper-like materials they produce from a mixture of chewed plant fibers and saliva and use to build their nests.
The team found that as the colonies get bigger, the usefulness of individual worker wasps diminishes because they have a surplus workforce.
This frees up some of the workers to help their more distant relatives who live in neighboring, smaller colonies that are short of workers.
However, such acts are only selfless and altruistic because they cost the worker wasps time and energy. They also have benefits.
When wasps help their distant relatives, it increases the likelihood that the DNA they share will survive with the assisted colony.
In what experts have called a “ surprising act of selflessness, ” some wasp colonies are lending their spare workers to babysit neighboring nests, a study finds. Pictured, a paper wasp nest
“These wasps can act like wealthy relatives to lend a hand to their second cousins,” said author and 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 relatives who need more help – loved ones with fewer carers – employees can generally pass on more copies of their genes,” explains Andy Radford, co-author and behavioral ecologist, from Bristol.
“We believe that similar principles of diminishing returns may explain the 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 in 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 models with our detailed field observations. We were stung a lot. But it was worth it, because our results show that worker wasps can become obsolete at home.
“A wasp on a colony with few larvae but many other workers becomes almost useless – the best you can do is look after the larvae of other family members.”
UK researchers studied about 20,000 neotropical baby wasps (pictured) and their caretakers from 91 different colonies in Panama, also near the canal
How seemingly forms of ‘altruism’ arise in nature has been an open question since the era of the naturalist Charles Darwin – since, on the surface, helping others does not seem to provide a way for living things to pass on their genes .
However, Professor Radford explained, “In 1964, the legendary biologist WD Hamilton discovered the main rule of animal altruism.”
Generous help for your family as they share many of your genes. Copies of your genes will prevail among the population. ‘
Professor Hamilton had also studied tropical paper wasps – but was confused when he examined Polistes wasps in Brazil, to find that workers left their close relatives in their own nests to help those from neighboring colonies, which were more closely related.
However, the new findings explain how paper wasps can afford to help their more distant relatives in certain circumstances – and gain an evolutionary advantage.
The team found that as colonies get bigger, the utility of individual worker wasps diminishes because they have a surplus workforce. This frees up some of the workers to help their more distant relatives who live in nearby smaller colonies that are short of workers.
This study built on previous work by University College London co-author and behavioral ecologist Seirian Sumner, which found that more than half of workers in a Panamanian wasp population assisted with multiple nests.
“Wasps provide great windows in the evolution of selflessness,” she said.
‘So much happens in a hornet’s nest: power struggles, self-sacrifice, groups fighting against odds to survive.’
“If we want to understand how societies evolve, we need to look deeper at wasps,” concluded Professor Sumner.
The full findings of the study are published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.