Tiny RFID tags fitted to tropical wasps
have revealed intriguing behaviour
about the insects“Bizarrely,
these wasps
don’t just
work for their
own colony,
but also for
numerous
neighbouring
colonies”
,
TY OF BRISTOL X2, FLPA, RAPID
PH
OT
OS
: OC
EAN ALLIAN
CE
, PATRI
CK KENNEDY
/UNIVER
SIT
CARD-CARRYING
WASPS
The same RFID technology used in Oyster
Cards is being employed by researchers
from Bristol University to study the social
behaviour of tropical paper wasps. The
insects were each fitted with a small RFID
tag weighing just 18mg. A tag reader in
each colony then monitored when they
entered or left the nest. “Bizarrely, these
wasps don’t just work for their own colony,
but also for numerous neighbouring colo-
nies,” says researcher Patrick Kennedy.
“So we rig up a population of colonies
with RFID-antennae and work out social
networks showing their movements. My
main experiment involves plucking out
the queen from certain nests to see if the
vagrant wasps take up the sudden oppor-
tunity to try and become queen.”Vol. 8 Issue 5Vol. 8 Issue 5Vol. 8 Issue 5 474747