Rethinking recognition: social context in adult life rather than early experience shapes recognition in a social wasp (original) (raw)
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The Evolution and Ontogeny of Nestmate Recognition in Social Wasps
Annual Review of Entomology, 1986
During the past decade, a substantial and rapidly expanding literature has documented that a diversity of hymenopterans have the ability to recognize their conspecific nestmates (22). As recognition research enters its second generation, investigators are turning their attention to elucidating the mechanisms of nestmate recognition and how the features of these mechanisms, as well as recognition ability itself, relate to an animal's sociobiology. Such studies are important not only because of their relevance to an understanding of the evolution and ecology of hymenopteran sociality, but also because of their potential application for control of economically important social insects. In our review, we summarize the evidence for nestmate recognition ability in social wasps, and examine in detail the mechanism of female-female nestmate recognition using primitively eusocial wasps (Polistes) as a model. We also compare the Polistes mechanism with mechanisms proposed for other social Hymenoptera and ,with the major theoretical models of kin recognition developed for animals in general. This is followed by a discussion of the possible adaptiveness of both female-female nestmate recognition ability and the specific mechanisms underlying this ability. Finally, we explore the preadaptations
Novel Insights into the Ontogeny of Nestmate Recognition in Polistes Social Wasps
PLoS ONE, 2014
The importance of early experience in animals' life is unquestionable, and imprinting-like phenomena may shape important aspects of behaviour. Early learning typically occurs during a sensitive period, which restricts crucial processes of information storage to a specific developmental phase. The characteristics of the sensitive period have been largely investigated in vertebrates, because of their complexity and plasticity, both in behaviour and neurophysiology, but early learning occurs also in invertebrates. In social insects, early learning appears to influence important social behaviours such as nestmate recognition. Yet, the mechanisms underlying recognition systems are not fully understood. It is currently believed that Polistes social wasps are able to discriminate nestmates from non-nestmates following the perception of olfactory cues present on the paper of their nest, which are learned during a strict sensitive period, immediately after emergence. Here, through differential odour experience experiments, we show that workers of Polistes dominula develop correct nestmate recognition abilities soon after emergence even in absence of what have been so far considered the necessary cues (the chemicals spread on nest paper). P. dominula workers were exposed for the first four days of adult life to paper fragments from their nest, or from a foreign conspecific nest or to a neutral condition. Wasps were then transferred to their original nests where recognition abilities were tested. Our results show that wasps do not alter their recognition ability if exposed only to nest material, or in absence of nest material, during the early phase of adult life. It thus appears that the nest paper is not used as a source of recognition cues to be learned in a specific time window, although we discuss possible alternative explanations. Our study provides a novel perspective for the study of the ontogeny of nestmate recognition in Polistes wasps and in other social insects.
Available kin recognition cues may explain why wasp behavior reflects relatedness to nest mates
Behavioral Ecology, 2013
Relatedness is predicted to be a key determinant of cooperative behavior, but kin discrimination within social insect colonies is surprisingly rare. A lack of reliable cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) cues is thought to be responsible, but here we show that in a high-profile paper wasp model, kin recognition cues are available for some individuals that found nests with nonrelatives. Thus, unrelated Polistes dominulus helpers could potentially recognize themselves as such. On this basis, we reanalyzed a behavioral data set to investigate whether foraging effort, defense contributions and aggression toward nest mates might thus reflect CHC profiles. Both foraging behavior and aggression varied with genetic relatedness, but genetic relatedness itself was a better predictor of this variation than differences in CHC profiles. We propose that wasps use specific components of the CHC profile, the identity of which is as yet unknown, to identify relatives among nest mates. Our data provide the first evidence of within-nest kin discrimination in primitively eusocial wasps but leave open the question of which cues are responsible.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2015
Social insects have evolved sophisticated recognition systems enabling them to accept nest-mates but reject alien conspecifics. In the social wasp, Liostenogaster flavolineata (Stenogastrinae), individuals differ in their cuticular hydrocarbon profiles according to colony membership; each female also possesses a unique (visual) facial pattern. This species represents a unique model to understand how vision and olfaction are integrated and the extent to which wasps prioritize one channel over the other to discriminate aliens and nest-mates. Liostenogaster flavolineata females are able to discriminate between alien and nest-mate females using facial patterns or chemical cues in isolation. However, the two sensory modalities are not equally efficient in the discrimination of 'friend' from 'foe'. Visual cues induce an increased number of erroneous attacks on nest-mates (false alarms), but such attacks are quickly aborted and never result in serious injury. Odour cues, presented in isolation, result in an increased number of misses: erroneous acceptances of outsiders. Interestingly, wasps take the relative efficiencies of the two sensory modalities into account when making rapid decisions about colony membership of an individual: chemical profiles are entirely ignored when the visual and chemical stimuli are presented together. Thus, wasps adopt a strategy to 'err on the safe side' by memorizing individual faces to recognize colony members, and disregarding odour cues to minimize the risk of intrusion from colony outsiders.
The mechanism of nestmate discrimination in social wasps (Polistes, Hymenoptera: Vespidae)
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 1983
Laboratory studies of nestmate recognition (250.0 h of behavioral observation) were conducted on two species of paper wasps (Polistes). Gynes of P. carolina isolated from their natal nest and nestmates at emergence later failed to recognize nestmates, but gynes previously exposed only to their natal nest for 2 h recognized nestmates. Gynes of P.fuscatus previously (1) exposed to their natal nest and nestmates for at least 5d, (2) exposed only to their natal nest for 4.16-13.5 h and (3) exposed only to their natal nest for 1 h, all discriminated nestmates from non-nestmates. Thus, exposure to the natal nest is a sufficient condition for the ontogeny of nestmate recognition ability. Unrelated gynes of P. fuscatus, previously exposed to different fragments of the same but unrelated nest, also recognized each other. These results, together with the evidence from other recent studies, indicate that the mechanism of nestmate discrimination in Polistes has the following attributes: Recognition cues are (1) learned, (2) learned in the adult stage, (3) learned within a few hours of emergence with memories of these cues being durable if not permanent; thus, learning of recognition cues resembles imprinting; (4) Recognition cues are learned from the natal nest and/or brood and not from adult nestmates, (5) they cannot be visual, tactile, or auditory features of adult nestmates and thus are probably chemical, and (6) they can be both learned and acquired from a nest and/ or its brood.
Animal Behaviour, 1983
We investigated the mechanism of worker kin discrimination in the paper wasp, Polistes fuscatus, using workers reared by unrelated foundresses. Nests containing worker-destined larvae were switched between unrelated foundresses before worker eclosion. Subsequently eclosing workers were isolated for 20 days and then placed together in triplets of two sisters and a non-sister. Workers can discriminate sisters from non-sisters without previous exposure as adults to adult kin. Sibling discrimination depends upon cues, presumably odours, that are learned at the natal nest.
2011
Abstract Social insects rank among the most abundant and influential terrestrial organisms. The key to their success is their ability to form tightly knit social groups that perform work cooperatively, and effectively exclude non-members from the colony. An extensive body of research, both empirical and theoretical, has explored how optimal acceptance thresholds could evolve in individuals, driven by the twin costs of inappropriately rejecting true nestmates and erroneously accepting individuals from foreign colonies.
Nestmate recognition in a neotropical polygynous wasp
Insectes Sociaux, 2007
In social insects, nestmate recognition systems can be dynamic and modulated in response to various kinds of genetic and environmental cues. For example, multiple-queen colonies can possess weak recognition abilities relative to single-queen colonies, due to broader exposure to heritable and environmentally derived nestmate recognition cues.We conducted field experiments to examine nestmate recognition ability in a neotropical polygynous wasp, Polybia paulista. Despite the fact that the effective queen number in P. paulista is the highest ever recorded in polygynous wasps, this species exhibits a well functioning nestmate recognition system, which allows colony entry only to nestmate individuals. Similar to other social Hymenoptera, young wasps express colony specific chemical signatures within several days after emergence. This is the first study to show that the polygynous epiponine wasp is able to distinguish nestmates from non-nestmates.