​How one axis managed to devastate all of Europe ● Women have the ability to literally smell married and unmarried men ● Drunken muscles are also characteristic

Asian waspPhoto: PASCAL GOETGHELUCK / Sciencephoto / Profimedia

How a single axis managed to devastate all of Europe

The Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) is one of the most aggressive and adaptable invasive species. This is confirmed by the fact that since the first reports of these insects in Europe, about 15-20 years ago, and until now, Asian wasps have reached all corners of the Old Continent, and their number exceeds several tens of millions.

In fact, Asian wasps, also known as killer wasps, can expand their habitat more than 80 kilometers a year in search of their favorite prey…bees and syrphids, bee-like insects.

A recent genetic analysis conducted by specialists from the University of Cork, Ireland, however, confirmed a less expected fact. Namely that the Asian wasps that have arrived in the UK since 2016 share a common ancestry with wasps from the rest of Europe. More specifically, all Asian wasps in Europe have mitochondrial genes that are descended from a single queen, the one that arrived from China to France around 2004.

As already mentioned, killer wasps feed mainly on bees. If bees in Asia have developed forms of protection that allow them to fend off wasp attacks, see if they overheat, then Europeans have no idea about this. And this turned them into ideal prey, which can be observed throughout the European continent.

Now, after all this information, Irish researchers have good news and bad news. The good news would be that the very low genetic diversity of the wasps that swarmed Europe would have made them vulnerable to biological attack. The bad news is that with global warming, such invasions will become commonplace. No matter what you say, it’s still not good.

Women have the ability to literally smell married and single men

The study, published in Frontiers in Psychology, does not say where the Australian researchers got the idea to conduct such a test. Although it would be very interesting to find out. But they definitely proved that women have an unexpected ability to smell and distinguish between married and unmarried men.

To come to this conclusion, which has serious implications for the world of science, the mentioned Australians selected 82 heterosexual women, half single, half with partners. They were given newsletter-style photos of some of the men (89 in total) and their t-shirts, in which the men were first asked to sweat.

In the end, so that the contestants wouldn’t pass out from so many sweaty T-shirts, each got six. Three from single men, respectively three from men who have partners. They were then asked to choose photos and T-shirts based on how attractive they thought the person in the photo was, as well as the corresponding smell.

Not to be left out of this experiment, it turns out that most women, whether single or in a relationship, find the smell of single men stronger and more attractive than the smell of those who are… no longer single. It depends on the level of testosterone and pheromones that they themselves release. Sexual energy and masculinity have somehow been squeezed out of those who have been taken, for no other reason.

Instead, there is a defendant. That is, men are much more attracted to women who are in the fertile period. And it can have unintended consequences, meaning it can make men drink more, as a study conducted a few years ago showed. In this case, it is clear that something went wrong, why are they confusing the cow’s tail with the city hall. Or, at most, more research is needed to show a cause-and-effect relationship.

In addition, drunken insolence is characteristic

If I’m still mentioning the unpredictable effects of the olfactory faculty on the human species, look what they’re capable of and what happened to some bitter vinegar flies! Named Drosophila melanogaster, which means “dew lover with a black belly”, the mentioned insects found a less poetic name in the Romanian language, namely vinegar flies or drunken midges. You can tell them what you want and that’s it.

Well, some researchers in Argentina have published a paper in the journal PLOS Genetics that demonstrates a previously unknown behavior of these insects with bacchic grips. For example, a male after making love with a female injects a chemical into her body to make her unattractive to other males. How so, he doesn’t even look at her anymore.

To make sure that the goal is achieved completely and there is no competitor with faulty sensors who does not understand the signal, the males have another similar weapon. Accordingly, the substance amine causes drowsiness in females, thanks to which they sleep well. Only they are no longer in the mood for nonsense, which means that out of will, out of necessity, they remain faithful and the male has evolutionary success, that is, he leaves as many offspring as possible.

Here, dear readers, how about this evolution in different groups of animals! It also makes you sweat when you find out. Good thing we’re not those flies and we can solve it easier with a single smell.

Photo source: profimediaimages.ro