Inside the Wasp Nest: Understanding Insect Societies
Many species of insects—such as ants, bees, wasps, and termites—organise themselves into societies, resembling and in some ways surpassing human societies. Can we understand these insect societies? This talk delved deep into understanding ant-hills, wasp nests, and beehives with ecologist Raghavendra Gadagkar, who shared his research around the Indian paper wasp Ropalidia marginata. The audience learnt about observational and experimental methods used to study insects, discovered contemporary research around these bugs, and pondered about how much we know of this often neglected society!
About the Evolutionary Biologist
Raghavendra Gadagkar is as an evolutionary biologist at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, interested in the evolution of animal and human societies. Gadagkar and his team of passionate students have conducted empirical and theoretical, field and laboratory research for over 40 years to understand the Social Biology of the Indian paper wasp, Ropalidia marginata. He has published over 400 articles and three books: Survival Strategies (HUP, 1997), The Social Biology of Ropalidia marginata (HUP, 2001) and Experiments in Animal Behaviour – cutting-edge research at trifling cost (IASc, 2021). He is an International Member of the National Academy of sciences, USA, Honorary Foreign Associate of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the 2021 Distinguished Animal Behaviorist of the Animal Behavior Society.