Wasps can 'drink' 80-degree alcohol without any harm

New research shows that oriental hornets have a tolerance for very high concentrations of alcohol, even greater than any other animal.

Consuming small amounts of ethanol is not surprising in the animal kingdom. In the case of the oriental hornet (Vespa orientalis), it results from a diet of ripe fruit and nectar, which ferments to produce ethanol.

For many species, even if well adapted to consuming ethanol, if any ethanol concentration above 4% is consumed, things start to go wrong.

Often, this carries the risk of increasing negative health effects, and in severe cases, death.

Wasps can "drink" 80-degree alcohol without any harm (Illustration: Getty).

However, a team of researchers from Tel Aviv University (Israel) has discovered that oriental hornets can handle ethanol concentrations of up to 80% without changing their behavior or survival.

More surprisingly, they can survive without any supplemental food source, consuming only ethanol for a week .

Indeed, the team collected male wasps from across the university campus, and placed them in experimental boxes.

For a week, they had nothing to eat but a sugar solution with ethanol concentrations ranging from 0 to 80%. They then monitored the wasps' behavior, as well as how long they survived.

Strangely, at any concentration of ethanol tested, the wasps did not suffer any damage that would lead to behavioral changes or mortality.

The authors explain in the study that the wasps are able to consume such high concentrations of alcohol without any adverse effects thanks to their genetic makeup.

Accordingly, the wasp's ability to tolerate ethanol is most likely due to multiple copies of the alcohol dehydrogenase (NADP+) gene . This gene is a special enzyme, capable of breaking down ethanol at any concentration to which they are exposed.

The finding suggests that the symbiotic relationship between ethanol-producing organisms and their hosts may be the source of their 'immunity' in using and metabolizing ethanol.

Thus, wasps can provide valuable insights into the physiological and behavioral aspects of ethanol immunity.

In addition, they also shed light on the underlying mechanisms and potential treatments for alcohol use disorders in humans.