Scientists reveal 'remarkable' wasp memory

Wasp mothers have stunning brainpower when it comes to feeding their young, according to new research.

Digger wasps make a short burrow for each egg, stocking it with food and returning a few days later to provide more.

The study by scientists at the University of Exeter revealed mother wasps can remember the locations of up to nine separate nests among hundreds belonging to other females.

Experts said they did not yet know how the wasps achieved such "remarkable mental feats."

Researchers discovered the insects feed their young in age order, adjusting the order if one dies, and they can even delay feeding offspring that had more food at the first visit.

"Our findings suggest that the miniature brain of an insect is capable of remarkably sophisticated scheduling decisions," said Professor Jeremy Field, from the University of Exeter.

"We tend to think that something so small couldn't do something so complex.

"In fact, they can remember where and when they have fed their young and what they fed them in a way that would be taxing even to human brains."

The digger wasps in the study live on heathland in Surrey where they hunt caterpillars on heather plants.

"Despite nesting in relatively featureless bare sand, often among hundreds of intermingled nests of other females, mothers rarely make errors in revisiting their nests," Mr Field said.

"Only 1.5% of the 1,293 food deliveries in the study went to other females' nests."

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