What’s the insect version of the Red Wedding?!
Tune in to our third episode of ‘Phil Us In’ where our entomology expert Te Papa’s Dr Phil Sirvid answers the big questions from bug-lovers and curious comedians Thomas Sainsbury and Chris Parker.
A thumb-sized killer, the Japanese giant hornet knows that bees are a delicious treat to feed their growing young. So when a lone hornet spies a bee hive they mark the area using pheromones - alerting their fellow hornets over to kill and dismember the colony. As Dr Phil says this destruction is effectively like “toddlers against tanks” and the European bee stands no chance.
The Japanese honey bee however, has evolved an ingenious defence strategy to fight off the hornets attack!
Listen to our podcast to discover how these bugs use the social ‘swarm’ to their advantage!
Shown cleverly by the team at Weta Workshop you can see this life and death struggle in our Bug Lab exhibition.
You can get your tickets on site or online.
