Posted on 05/08/2019 5:01:19 PM PDT by EdnaMode
Summer is approaching in the northern hemisphere, heralding the return of that great scourge of al fresco diners everywhere: the wasp.
Now, a new study out of the University of Michigan reveals that the striped critters aren't just pesky -- they're smart.
The research found that wasps can use a form of logical reasoning to infer unknown relationships from known relationships, according to a press release.
Essentially this means they can work out that if is X is greater than Y, and Y is greater than Z, X is greater than Z -- an ability that was thought to be a key human trait for thousands of years. In recent decades, however, scientists have shown that vertebrate animals such as birds, monkeys and fish also have this ability, known as transitive inference (TI).
And Elizabeth Tibbetts, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Michigan, has found the first evidence of TI in an invertebrate animal -- namely the paper wasp.
The insects, which are found around the world, are known for making distinctive nests out of chewed wood mixed with saliva that look like paper. While the paper wasp's sting is toxic to humans, it is less painful than those of other wasp species.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Red wasps are not the only ones that are afraid of hornets. So am I, I discovered an underground nest of them one time and I was glad when they let me go.
WASPs? Yeah, they’re pretty smart. Finally getting credit for it?
Eric Frank Russell thought wasps were pretty special.
Not bad for a Spakum...
Or battery operated racquet type zappers!
...........
I have a violent reaction to wasp stings.
I will find that wasp and kill him.
I will find his nest and kill all wasp present.
I will hunt down his kin and kill their nest and all present.
Does that colony collapse syndrome affect wasps? If not it’s a damn shame.
“Wasps have no natural defense against vacuum cleaners...”
I take two rubber bands and Link them together and knocking crazy with that I’m finished him off with my bucket hat or I take a paper towel and just crack their heads with pinch...
Carpenter Bees are built like tanks.
You need to make the distinction between knowing how and knowing that. The wasp knows how how to execute a perfect turn-to-base and final approach, but presumably is ignorant of the flight equations making possible its performance or knowing that the Bernoulli effect is involved, etc.
Barn swallows. Natures anti-wasp warfare fighter planes. I quit knocking down their nests when I realized their talent. Now I look forward to their return every year. The only problem is their about a month behind the wasp emergence schedule.
I think that was kind of my point. The ability to use advanced mathematics is innate, but only humans have devised a system to represent these innate functions symbolically. And not all humans are intelligent enough to grasp the symbolism.
Exactly.
And well it should!
A good Navy buddy died in Texas after accidentally touching a wasp nest under a chair. He never expected the consequential anaphylactic shock, and no near access to an epinephrine injection.
But it turned out to be about some stinging bee-like creature instead.
Hi.
There is a wasp called a yellow hornet. Some call them yellow jackets.
The only reason I mentioned this is because they live underground.
They are nasty little assholes, and persistent to boot.
Never pitch your tent over a yellow jacket hole.
5.56mm
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