For centuries, it has been believed that insects are unable to perceive the color red. While this limitation may have seemed absolute, a recent study has revealed that two species of beetles from the eastern Mediterranean region possess the ability to see a spectrum that includes red light. This groundbreaking discovery challenges our understanding of insect vision and opens up new avenues for research in the fields of ecology and evolution.

The researchers behind this breakthrough are an international team led by Dr. Johannes Spaethe from the University of Würzburg in Germany, along with colleagues from Slovenia and the Netherlands. They used a combination of electrophysiology, behavioral experiments, and color trapping to demonstrate that Pygopleurus chrysonotus and Pygopleurus syriacus, both members of the Glaphyridae family, are capable of perceiving deep red light in addition to ultraviolet, blue, and green light.

These beetles have four types of photoreceptors in their retinas that respond to different wavelengths of light, including the elusive red spectrum. The scientists conducted field experiments to observe how these beetles use true color vision to identify targets and distinguish between colors. Their results show a clear preference for red hues among the two species.

This discovery not only shatters our long-held assumption about insect color perception but also presents a new model system for studying the visual ecology of beetles and the evolution of flower signals. The Glaphyrid family, which comprises three genera with varying preferences for flower colors, offers a promising avenue for further research in this area.

The study’s findings have significant implications for our understanding of how pollinators adapt to their environments. Traditionally, it was believed that flower colors evolved to match the visual capabilities of pollinators over time. However, the researchers suggest that this scenario might not be universal and propose an alternative: that the visual systems of some pollinators, such as these Mediterranean beetles, may actually adapt to the diversity of flower colors in their environments.

This paradigm shift has sparked new questions about the ecology and evolution of pollinator-plant interactions. The study’s authors encourage further research into this area, highlighting the complex relationships between species that have evolved over millions of years. As we continue to unravel the mysteries of insect vision and behavior, we may discover even more surprising abilities among these tiny creatures that captivate us with their intricate social structures and incredible adaptability.

The tiny nematode worm has been hiding in plain sight. These minuscule creatures are the most abundant animal on Earth, but their social behavior was largely a mystery until now. Scientists have long assumed that when times get tough, these worms band together to hitch a ride on passing animals, but this idea seemed more like myth than reality.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and the University of Konstanz in Germany have finally provided direct evidence that nematodes do indeed form towering structures, known as superorganisms, to facilitate collective transport. By combining fieldwork with laboratory experiments, they discovered that these worm towers are not just random aggregations but complex social structures that work together to achieve a common goal.

The team, led by senior author Serena Ding, spent months searching for natural occurrences of nematode towers in decaying fruit and leaves in local orchards. To their surprise, they found that the worms were not just randomly aggregated but formed coordinated structures that responded to touch and could detach from surfaces and reattach to insects like fruit flies.

In the laboratory, the researchers created controlled towers using cultures of C. elegans, a species of nematode worm commonly used in scientific research. The results were astonishing: within two hours, living towers emerged, stable for over 12 hours, and capable of extending exploratory “arms” into surrounding space. Some even formed bridges across gaps to reach new surfaces.

The worms inside the tower showed no obvious role differentiation, with individuals from the base and apex being equally mobile, fertile, and strong, hinting at a form of egalitarian cooperation. However, the authors noted that this might not be the case in natural towers, where separate genetic compositions and roles could exist.

This discovery has significant implications for our understanding of group behavior evolution, from insect swarms to bird migrations. The researchers believe that studying nematode behavior can provide valuable insights into how and why animals move together.

In conclusion, the secret life of nematodes has been revealed, and it’s a fascinating one. These tiny worms have evolved complex social structures to facilitate collective transport, challenging our previous assumptions about their behavior. As we continue to explore this phenomenon, we may uncover new secrets about the evolution of group behavior in animals.

The rewritten article is as follows:

Revolutionizing Agriculture: Uncovering the Hidden Secrets of a Tiny Wasp’s Reproductive Trick

Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery that could transform global agriculture. Dr Rebecca Boulton, from the University of Stirling, has shown for the first time that Lysiphlebus fabarum, a tiny species of wasp, can reproduce with or without a mate. This finding challenges previous assumptions and opens up new possibilities for improving biological pest control.

Lysiphlebus fabarum is known to have both sexual and asexual populations, but until now, it was not known whether asexual females could reproduce sexually with males. The discovery has significant implications for agriculture, as the wasps naturally target aphids, which are major pests in crops worldwide.

Many species of parasitoid wasps are mass-reared and released as a natural alternative to pesticides because they lay their eggs on or in other species, many of which are pests, before the developing wasp larvae consumes their host, killing it in the process. Asexual reproduction makes it easy to produce large numbers of wasps, but these need to be suitably adapted to local pests and environments to be effective.

Developing an understanding of how Lysiphlebus fabarum reproduce could help boost genetic diversity in commercially reared lines, making future biocontrol agents more resilient and better adapted. Dr Boulton’s study has shown that facultative sex, where females can choose to reproduce with or without a mate, may have hidden costs, such as reduced female reproductive success.

The findings of Dr Boulton’s study could be used to develop new biocontrol agents that can be used to control aphids throughout the world, harnessing their natural reproductive behavior to ensure that they are adapted to the hosts and environments specific to different regions.

Dr Boulton reared the wasps in a controlled environment facility at the University and had initially planned to put asexual and sexual wasps together, in direct competition, to see which parasitized the most aphids. However, she realized the female asexual wasps were behaving unexpectedly and were mating with males from the sexual population.

This led to a change in strategy, as she started to record this behavior in more detail, before carrying out wasp paternity testing to see whether the asexual females were just mating or actually fertilizing eggs. Once it confirmed that the asexual wasps were engaging in facultative sex, Dr Boulton carried out an experiment where asexual females either mated or didn’t, before examining how successful these females, and their daughters, were at parasitizing aphids.

The study involved putting around 300 wasps, each around 1mm long, in their own petri dish with a colony of sap-sucking aphids and counting how many were parasitized. Lysiphlebus fabarum wasps only live a few days but spend two weeks developing as larvae on their hosts.

The entire experiment, which was carried out across two generations of wasps, took six weeks to run. On completion, Dr Boulton extracted DNA from the wasps and sent it to be paternity tested. When the results were returned, it was clear that the asexual wasps which mated were, in most cases, reproducing sexually as their offspring had bits of DNA that were only found in the fathers.

The study, “Is facultative sex the best of both worlds in the parasitoid wasp Lysiphlebus fabarum?” is published in the Royal Society of Open Science. It was funded through a BBSRC Discovery fellowship.

Professor Anne Ferguson-Smith, Executive Chair of BBSRC, said: “This is an exciting example of how BBSRC’s Discovery Fellowships are helping talented early career researchers explore fundamental questions in bioscience with real-world relevance. Dr Boulton’s work opens up promising avenues for more sustainable pest control.”