Koko News | Science | 6 days ago

Surprising Memory of Wasp Mothers

Waspmothershaveasurprisinglygoodmemorywhenitcomestofeedingtheiryoung.

在餵養幼蜂方面，黃蜂媽媽的記憶力出奇地好。

Anewstudyhasfoundthattheycanrememberthelocationsofuptonineseparatenestsoftheirsatonce-despitethemusuallybeinglocatedamonghundredsofothers.

一項新的研究發現，它們可以同時記住多達 9 個不同巢穴的位置——儘管這些巢穴通常位於數百個其他巢穴之中。

ResearchersfromtheUniversityofExeterdecidedtotakeacloserlookatthebehaviourofdiggerwaspmotherswholiveonheathlandinSurreyinsouthernEngland.

艾克希特大學的研究人員決定仔細觀察住在英格蘭南部薩裡郡荒地上的掘地蜂媽媽的行為。

Scientistsweresurprisedtofindthateventhoughtheinsectsaresosmall, theycouldstillrememberthelocationsofuptonineseparatenestsatonce, rarelymakinganymistakes.

科學家們驚訝地發現，儘管這些昆蟲如此之小，但它們仍然可以同時記住多達九個不同巢穴的位置，而且很少犯任何錯誤。

ProfessorJeremyField, fromtheUniversityofExeterexplained:'Ourfindingssuggestthattheminiaturebrainofaninsectiscapableofremarkablysophisticatedschedulingdecisions.'

埃克塞特大學的傑里米·菲爾德教授解釋說：“我們的研究結果表明，昆蟲的微型大腦能夠做出非常複雜的調度決策。”

Previousresearchhasshoweddiggerwaspsusevisualobjectssuchasstonestofindtheirnests, butexpertsareunsureexactlyhowtheyhavesuchimpressivebrainpower.

先前的研究表明，掘地蜂利用石頭等視覺物體來尋找巢穴，但專家們並不確定它們究竟是如何擁有如此驚人的腦力的。

'Wedon'tyetknowhowwaspsachievetheseremarkablementalfeats,' ProfessorFieldsaid.

菲爾德教授說：“我們還不知道黃蜂是如何實現這些非凡的智力壯舉的。”

Wasp mothers have a surprisingly good memory when it comes to feeding their young.

A new study has found that they can remember the locations of up to nine separate nests of theirs at once - despite them usually being located among hundreds of others.

Researchers from the University of Exeter decided to take a closer look at the behaviour of digger wasp mothers who live on heathland in Surrey in southern England.

Scientists were surprised to find that even though the insects are so small, they could still remember the locations of up to nine separate nests at once, rarely making any mistakes.

Professor Jeremy Field, from the University of Exeter explained: 'Our findings suggest that the miniature brain of an insect is capable of remarkably sophisticated scheduling decisions.'

Previous research has showed digger wasps use visual objects such as stones to find their nests, but experts are unsure exactly how they have such impressive brainpower.

'We don't yet know how wasps achieve these remarkable mental feats,' Professor Field said.