Wasps protect their larvae with antibiotics

Streptomyces is the genus of Gram-positive bacteria that are most famous for their ability to produce antibiotics, including not only streptomycin, but also erythromycin, erythromycin, tetracycline, vanco, and chloramphenicol.

Now researchers have discovered that a family of digger wasps called "beewolves" coat their larvae with Streptomyces and other bacteria to protect them from fungal diseases.

Female beewolves cultivate the useful bugs in specialised antennal gland reservoirs and apply them to the ceilings of brood cells, said the scientists. The wasp larvae, growing in the cells, later take up the bacteria and transfer them to the outside surfaces of their cocoons.

Laboratory tests showed that the beewolves employed an advanced form of ''combination medication'' using nine antibiotic varieties...

'This cannot be achieved with a single substance. This means that millions of years ago, beewolves and their symbionts have already evolved a strategy that is known from human medicine as combination prophylaxis.''