Consciousness in Nature
Wasp Disaster
Researchers in India took 14-wasp nests into their lab. They then removed all the females. In this species the male wasps only function is to fertilize the females. They then do nothing but hang around and get fed.
The researchers wanted to find out what would happen if the females, who did all the work, suddenly disappeared. If wasps are little machines with a pre-pr
ogrammed brain as is believed by Western biology then not much should happen, except the larva would go hungry. However the males recognized that the hive was in trouble and started trying to feed the larva. The researchers said that the males got the first couple of steps right, and then would skip a step becoming confused, not knowing what to do next. It seems to me that it would take some form of awareness or “consciousness” for the males to recognize that the larva needed feeding and choose to pitch in to save the nest. The act of recognizing is an act of awareness. Also the fact that they didn't have a pre-programmed to take over show their awareness was trying a write a new program.