Death trap can lure thousands of killer wasps

A new study published in the journal Current Biology shows that giant wasps can be lured into traps by sex pheromones.

With the scientific name Vespa mandarinia, the giant wasp is an invasive species in North America and is native to Asia. This insect is known as the "killer bee" because of its venom and ferocity.

Wasps can be tricked into sex traps

Giant wasps can grow up to 5.5cm, is considered the largest and most dangerous bee species in the world. According to research, their venom attacks the nervous system and threatens the life of the victim if they are not treated promptly after being bitten.

This giant bee even eats other small wasps, so they are also called genocidal bees.

While Asian bees have adapted to protect themselves from predatory wasps, North American bees have been exterminated by them. Giant wasps have devastated bee populations in the US.

In the United States, giant wasps are estimated to cause more than $100 million in damage to bee-pollinated crops annually, according to CNN.

Study author James Nieh, professor and associate dean of biology at the University of California San Diego (USA), said his team created a series of traps that use sex pheromones to attract male wasps.

According to Nieh, pheromones are chemicals produced to transmit sex information within a species.

Each trap is equipped with a fake female wasp smeared with sex pheromones to attract males. Male wasps are attracted to the sex pheromones of female wasps.

Mr Nieh further explained: "Male wasps will be attracted to and fly around the traps, but none will land if there isn't something there that looks like a female wasp."

After placing traps near wasp sites in China's Yunnan province, the researchers found that the pheromone composition was comparable to the sex pheromones of the queen bee with the strongest attraction to male wasps.

This artificial sex pheromone is made of: hexanoic acid, octanoic acid and decanoic acid, the study said.

Traps with sex pheromones captured 16 times more wasps than traps without pheromones.

Mr. Nieh also said that after setting the trap out for a day, the scientists were able to catch thousands of wasps.

However, Allen Gibbs, a professor in the life sciences department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said: "Although it is an effective method of catching a large number of giant wasps over a period of time, it is an effective method of catching a large number of giant wasps. short period of time, but it is not yet an ideal system.

According to Mr. Gibbs, this method only kills the males, leaving the females free to fly away and start creating a new swarm of bees.

Also, wasps only mate for a few months in the fall, so trapping can only be done during that time.