Wasps able to tell the difference between 'same' and 'different'

Bob Yirka is a research scientist at Phys.org.

Paper wasp can distinguish between things that are the same and things that are different. In a paper published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, four people describe how they trained a wasp and how they believe it has the same abilities as other insects.

Humans are capable of distinguishing the differences between things that are the same and those that are different. Even if one object is red and the other is blue, most people can tell it's a car. corvids, parrots, ducklings, dolphins and pigeons all have the same ability to discern differences between things that are the same or different and to make decisions based on that understanding. The European honey bee has a small brain. The paper wasp was tested to see if it could distinguish the faces of other wasp's.

The researchers used a small electric shock to train groups to respond to pairs of objects that were the same or different. They put the wasp through a test to see if they could apply what they had learned to different stimuli. It was found that the wasp were able to do it 80% of the time.

Experiments show that wasp's ability to make choices about their actions is based on their relationships. The ability shows that paper wasp can learn. It's possible that this ability is present in many other creatures with the same brain size.

More information: Chloe Weise et al, Paper wasps form abstract concept of 'same and different', Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2022). DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1156 Journal information: Proceedings of the Royal Society B

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