Scientists studying the evolution of disease resistance in insects have found evidence that social species of wasps show significantly higher antimicrobial activity than solitary species.
The research, which was attempting to explain how such complex societies evolved, found that the origin of antimicrobial defenses in wasps is strongly linked to the species group size and social complexity.
According to one of the lead researchers, “The result provides evidence for the origin of antimicrobial defenses in wasps and increases our understanding of trends in disease resistance strategies in all social insects”.
Read more at Macquarie University