Philanthus basilaris (IMAGE)

Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology

Philanthus basilaris

Caption

A female of the beewolf species Philanthus basilaris at its nest entrance, Utah, USA. Three genera of these solitary wasps cultivate defensive Streptomyces symbionts that protect the wasps' offspring from pathogenic fungi by producing a mixture of up to 45 different antibiotic compounds.

Credit

Martin Kaltenpoth, Johannes Gutenberg University (JGU), Mainz; Germany

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