Losing a queen throws a tropical wasp colony into turmoil, triggering violent power struggles and social breakdowns. But new research led by UCL scientists found that some wasps quietly step in to keep the colony functioning during the chaos.
The study, published in Animal Behaviour, examined tropical paper wasps (Polistes canadensis) in the Caribbean. These colonies are built around a single dominant breeding female, but unlike some social insects, the other females are still capable of reproducing themselves. That means if the queen disappears, several wasps may compete to take her place.
To investigate what happens after a queen is lost, researchers removed queens from established colonies and watched how the insects responded.
Violent Fights Break Out After the Queen Disappears
The effects were immediate. Female wasps began aggressively competing for dominance, and the colony's normal social structure quickly unraveled. Instead of an orderly transfer of leadership, the colonies entered a period of intense conflict involving many individuals.
