Jain, A and Gadagkar, R (2019) The secret society of the paper wasp (Q&A). In: Fountain Ink, 8 (6). pp. 88-105.
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PDF (Jain, A. and Gadagkar, R. (2019). The secret society of the paper wasp (Q&A). Fountain Ink, 8 (6), 88-105. https://fountainink.in/qna/the-secret-society-of-the-paper-wasp)
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Abstract
Raghavendra Gadagkar, 65, one of India’s most accomplished scientists, is a maverick. He has spent the better part of the last four decades studying the social structure of the paper wasp, Ropalidia marginata, found so commonly in cities and forests across India that it was completely ignored by everyone else. He has done what few contemporary scientists do—let the subject do the talking. Over years of painstaking observation and analysis, wasp society has revealed some of its secrets to him: how are tasks shared among wasps in a colony? How does this impact social structure and caste hierarchy? What happens when the queen wasp dies? By his own admission though he has only scraped the surface, things are just beginning to get interesting. He is now an honorary professor at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru, having spent almost his entire career there. He is also a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin. Akshai Jain spoke to him about his life in science.
| Item Type: | Journal Article |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Fountain Ink |
| Publisher: | Fountain Ink |
| Keywords: | Interview, Paper wasp, Ropalidia marginata |
| Department/Centre: | Division of Biological Sciences > Centre for Ecological Sciences |
| Date Deposited: | 11 Jan 2021 11:31 |
| Last Modified: | 11 Jan 2021 11:31 |
| URI: | http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/67581 |
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