Oral communication of wasps

2002/11/04 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Zoologia

Some species of wasps live in colonies and, like in bee and ant colonies, there is a queen and workers. The staff performs various functions, including the collection and nesting of fiber and water necessary for the construction of the paper nest.

But for the colony to work well, a certain communication is necessary among the members of the colony in order to be able to properly distribute the work. Until now, the experts did not know how wasps communicate, since wasps, like bees, do not make communication dances or use pheromones, such as txindurras.

Scientists have found that the key to communication between wasps is in the process called trofalaxia. Trofalaxia is an exchange of food or materials between the members of the colony, which manifests itself in all insects that form colonies. Apparently, thanks to this exchange, wasps can know the needs of the colony and modify their behavior.