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BOB HIRSHON (host):
Dead ants and baby wasps. I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update.
Many wasps lay their eggs in chambers within the stem of a plant, with an empty outermost cell for protection. So University of Freiburg entomologist Michael Staab was puzzled to discover a new species of wasp that instead fills this outer chamber with dead ants. His team dubbed the new species – which lives in southeast China – the “bone-house” wasp. And they’ve found that the macabre strategy protects its larvae from predators.
MICHAEL STAAB (University of Freiburg):
And that might either camouflage the nest by scent or, if the nest smells like the nest of ants, ants are usually well defended, a possible predator or parasitoid might have had negative experiences with ants before and thus avoid the scent of ant nests.
HIRSHON:
His team is now working with chemists to identify what chemicals from the dead ants might be turning away would-be nest predators. I’m Bob Hirshon, for AAAS, the science society.