A Wasp Mom’s Gift: Blankets of Bacteria

A handy antimicrobial paste is crucial to this insect’s survival

You don’t want to be a honeybee when the beewolf is on the prowl.

This aptly named wasp stings a honeybee and drags its paralyzed body into her burrow to become food for her offspring. But that’s not the only gift the mother beewolf gives her young. In this episode, Ed talks to Martin Kaltenpoth about something strange he found inside the mother beewolf’s antennae — a paste packed with bacteria called Streptomyces. Martin was perplexed: “It was amazing to see. Streptomyces! …Streptomyces is well known in antibiotic production. We use it for human medicine as well.” Ed and Martin discuss what a beewolf is doing with this antibacterial goo, and what exactly would go wrong if she didn’t have access to it.

I Contain Multitudes is a multi-part video series dedicated to exploring the wonderful, hidden world of the microbiome. The series is hosted by science writer Ed Yong and produced by HHMI Tangled Bank Studios in association with Room 608.