To Protect Itself, Bee-Wolf Eggs Produce Toxic Gases to Prevent Mold Growth
In nature, animals will do anything to survive.
Wasps have a very obvious defensive mechanism, such as stingers, but their offspring, a soft, helpless egg, cannot move at all, and is very fragile and easily attacked by fungi or other organisms. To survive in the humid underground, there is a kind of wasp that has learned a magical defensive technique—poison gas.
Mom brings food (bees) home
New research shows that this wasp has evolved an incredible way to protect its offspring; these eggs are like live gas bombs, capable of producing gases that kill fungi.
This is a solitary wasp with the female habit of hunting bees to store food for its offspring. It uses its stingers to paralyze bees and then drags them into a dirty cave to lay an egg, with the egg feeding on the bee.
Nursery teacher: food (bees) and eggs
Hunting bees, therefore also known as 'bee-wolf'. Bee-wolf's 'nursery room' is generally more humid and warm, although it is a hidden good place, but it also promotes the growth of mold.
As we all know, when food is not eaten, we often put it in the refrigerator to preserve it. But how does the bee-wolf's nursery room, which is hot and humid, preserve food and itself?
Rot comparison: on the left is food and eggs, on the right is food
The key is the egg, which produces nitrogen monoxide (NO).
In order to find the answer, German scientists conducted related experiments. They found that bees stored with food and eggs are less likely to mold, which means that the food does not rot mainly because of the egg.
After scientific analysis, it was found that the bee-wolf egg produces nitrogen monoxide (NO), which is a widely used gas, which reacts with oxygen in the air to become irritating nitrogen dioxide. In the appropriate dose, it is also an effective antibiotic.
In addition to this gas, the bee-wolf also pre-preserves paralyzed bees to prevent dehydration of the unfortunate prey, and the secreted substance helps the prey to dehydrate, making it less susceptible to fungal infection.
Finally
Bee-wolves are not the only insects that use gas defense.
Scientists also discovered a parasitic bee that can produce a gas to disinfect the 'nursery'. The only difference is that it protects the larvae instead of eggs.
More surprisingly, excessive nitrogen monoxide is harmful to the human body, while the bee-wolf's egg can survive in a toxic atmosphere. Scientists still don't know the mystery.
