Vertebrates that live in societies with others of their species tend to have bigger brains than their solitary relatives. Wasps, though, go the other way. That trend could be an important clue about how insect societies form differently from vertebrate societies--and serve different purposes.

Credit: Sean O'Donnell, Drexel University

Wasp brains contain 'mushroom bodies,' structures biologists say are superficially similar to the regions of vertebrate brains that deal with higher cognition functions.

Credit: Sean O'Donnell, Drexel University

The society you live in can shape the complexity of your brain. For vertebrate animals like humans, and even birds and fish, there is a lot of support for the idea that our complex brains developed along with complex societies. Sean O'Donnell, a professor at Drexel University, explains how his lab studied whether this same pattern holds true for social insects--specifically, wasps. The answer to that question could mean a whole new way of thinking about how brains and social behavior can evolve together.

Credit: Drexel University

Sean O'Donnell is a professor at Drexel University's biology department who has spent much of his 20-year career studying wasps.

Credit: Drexel University