A Wasp Mom’s Gift: Blankets of Bacteria
Resource Type
Duration
00:09:10Description
This short video explores the mechanism by which a beewolf wasp passes antibiotic-producing bacteria to its offspring.
The beewolf (Philanthus triangulum) is a digger wasp that preys on honey bees. A beewolf mother stings a honey bee and deposits an egg on the bee’s paralyzed body. When the beewolf larva hatches, it can feed on the honey bee. Scientists discovered that the beewolf’s antennae are packed with bacteria called Streptomyces, which produce a variety of antibiotic substances. The beewolf spreads the antibiotic-producing bacteria on the cocoon in which the larva develops. In this way, the larva is protected from being infected by harmful bacteria and fungi.
This video is part of the series I Contain Multitudes, hosted by science journalist Ed Yong.
Key Terms
antenna, antibiotic, cocoon, digger wasp, insect, microbiome, Streptomyces, symbiosis
Primary Literature
Engl, Tobias, Johannes Kroiss, Marco Kai, Taras Y. Nechitaylo, Aleš Svatoš, and Martin Kaltenpoth. “Evolutionary stability of antibiotic protection in a defensive symbiosis.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115, 9 (2018): E2020–E2029. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1719797115.
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Accessibility Level (WCAG compliance)
Version History
NGSS (2013)
HS-LS4.B
AP Biology (2019)
EVO-1, EVO-3, IST-4
IB Biology (2016)
5.2, 6.3
Vision and Change (2009)
CC1