Felix walked into the dorm room wearing an antenna-like hat. Verum couldn’t help laughing. “Hold the giggling, I’ll make you wear one, too,” said Felix and wielded his wand.
“Oh! I have a wasp wing hat. What’s with all the hats today?” Orak raised an eyebrow.
“It’s all about a recent study published in a scientific journal showing a never-seen-before co-relation between plants and insects,” explained Felix.
“That’s impossible!” said Orak.
“Exactly! But let me explain. This study was a result of a 10-year-old’s unique discovery. About two years ago, 10-year-old Hugo was roaming in his backyard in Pennsylvania, United States. Suddenly, he observed ants collecting red-coloured seeds and storing them near their nest.
He rushed to his father, who is an entomologist (a scientist who studies insects). His father was awestruck as ants normally do not collect seeds,” Felix requested.
Orak, Verum and Scorch were now curious.
“The study revealed a dramatic complex and a co-dependent relationship between oak trees, ants, and wasps. It showed how the three are incredibly interconnected and nature has an intertwined system of working.
The ants were being manipulated by wasps! So, the cynipid wasp species provoke oak trees to create something called galls. Galls are small protective bubbles of leaf matter that the oak tree wraps around the wasps’ eggs as the wasp lays them on the leaves. Then the ants are attracted to this gall and take the wasps’ eggs to safety near their nest,” Felix broke the suspense, raising his hands dramatically.
“It’s like the wasp is a puppet master,” Verum was amazed.
“Exactly!” Felix agreed, “And, therefore, we are going to our backyard to see if we have a discovery like this,” he grinned.
“Of course, we are!” Scorch smiled in amusement.
The Gifted Four set out to discover something new.