Speculative Fact #145: Facial Recognition Among Wasps

For most of us, a bug is just a bug. Even those six-legged enthusiasts who know the difference between a Lepidoptera and a Hymenoptera will have a hard time distinguishing between two actual individual insects.


A team of scientists discovered that wasps within Polistes fuscatus not only recognized the faces of their nest-mates, but even reacted with aggression when the faces of individual wasps were “experimentally changed” (with tiny brushes and paint).  

                The study brings up all kinds of interesting questions about the nature of facial recognition and how it relates to social dynamics. Programmers are already hoping to capitalize on lessons learned for the next generation of facial recognition software.  

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