Science / Animals

Shower Thoughts: What's the point of wasps?

21:15 pm on 11 June 2024

Have you ever had a burning question in the back of your mind that you just can't find the answer for, when suddenly, the noise in your brain clears and, in its place, appears the perfect thought.

That's a Shower Thought, and here on Nights we're aiming to answer those unshakeable questions lurking in the back of your mind.

Tonight's question: What's the point of wasps?

Professor Jacqueline Beggs from the University of Auckland's School of Biological Sciences and joins us to explain.

Listen

Wasps cost New Zealand millions of dollars a year in agricultural losses and ecological damage. Photo: CC BY 2.0 Martin Cooper