24 Jan 2007
The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) has fitted wasps with tiny radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to gather information on the insects’ behaviour.
Scientists fitted the insects with tags and placed sensors at the entrance of each nest to record their movements, in real time, as they entered and exited nests.
It allowed the team to discover that rather than just tending home colonies, worker wasps also entered other nests to help raise the young.
The team says it was inspired by the Oyster card, where London's transport users touch in and touch out of stations using RFID cards and readers. It believes RFID could be used to monitor other species’ behaviour.
The scientists tagged every female worker wasp, fitting a total of 422 tags, with readers placed at each of the 33 nests.
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