Social Wasps Research Papers

Venoms of several animals have been used to study various physiopathologic processes, and also to offer opportunity to design and develop new therapeutic drugs. We briefly review certain wasp venom components and their biological effects,... more

Venoms of several animals have been used to study various physiopathologic processes, and also to offer
opportunity to design and develop new therapeutic drugs. We briefly review certain wasp venom components and their
biological effects, which may be potential sources of novel pharmacologically active compounds

- by
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- Animal venoms and toxins, Wasps, Wasps-Vespoidea, Social Wasps

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is one of the most important model organisms and has been a valuable asset to human civilization. However, despite its extensive use in the last 9,000 y, the existence of a seasonal cycle outside human-made environments has not yet been described. We demonstrate the role of social wasps as vector and natural reservoir of S. cerevisiae during all seasons. We provide experimental evidence that queens of social wasps overwintering as adults (Vespa crabro and Polistes spp.) can harbor yeast cells from autumn to spring and transmit them to their progeny. This result is mirrored by field surveys of the genetic variability of natural strains of yeast. Microsatellites and sequences of a selected set of loci able to recapitulate the yeast strain's evolutionary history were used to compare 17 environmental wasp isolates with a collection of strains from grapes from the same region and more than 230 strains representing worldwide yeast variation. The wasp isolates fall into subclusters representing the overall ecological and industrial yeast diversity of their geographic origin. Our findings indicate that wasps are a key environmental niche for the evolution of natural S. cerevisiae populations, the dispersion of yeast cells in the environment, and the maintenance of their diversity. The close relatedness of several wasp isolates with grape and wine isolates reflects the crucial role of human activities on yeast population structure, through clonal expansion and selection of specific strains during the biotransformation of fermented foods, followed by dispersal mediated by insects and other animals. evolutionary biology | genomics

- by Irene Stefanini
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- Ecology, Multidisciplinary, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Social behavior

L'articolo affronta la questione delle resistenze oggi sempre più forti a leggere, studiare, amare i classici perché ritenuti spesso politicamente e moralmente impresentabili, perché veicolerebbero pregiudizi di genere, religiosi, razzisti ecc. Nel saggio non si nega che nei classici ritroviamo tali pregiudizi ma secondo chi scrive essi sono sempre contraddetti e superati dai testi che vanno sempre ben al di là delle convinzioni dell'autore.

- by stefano brugnolo
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- Shakespeare, Fredric Jameson, Dante, Denis de Rougemont

Omalus sculpticollis as the Main Enemy of Psenulus fuscipennis (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae, Crabronidae) in the Crimea, Ukraine. Martynova K. V., Fateryga A. V. -Th e trap-nest technique was tested in the Karadag Nature Reserve (Crimea, Ukraine). In the result the enemies of Psenulus fuscipennis (Dahlbom, 1843), which caused damage to its progeny, were revealed: Omalus sculpticollis Abeille, 1878, Melittobia acasta Walker, 1839, Perithous septemcinctorius (Th unberg, 1822), and Trichodes apiarius Linnaeus, 1758. Th e structure of the parasite complex, voltinity of the species, comparative eff ectiveness of enemies are determined on the basis of observed data. Th e taxonomical position of O. sculpticollis is discussed, its sexual dimorphism is illustrated, the detailed description of the cocoon and some structural features of the last instar larva are given for the fi rst time. Feeding habits of the larvae of O. sculpticollis are examined and the delicate aspects of interaction with the host are discussed. Short notes on terminology are given.

- by Alexander Fateryga
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- Host-parasite Coevolution, Social Wasps, Nesting Biology
- by Kelvyn L Dunn
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- Religion, Evolutionary Biology, Toxicology, Australia
- by James M Carpenter
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- Brazil, Faunistics, Social Wasps
- by Mark Beumer
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- Christianity, Late Antiquity, Greek Religion, Antiquity

The Neotropical Polistinae wasps are diverse in taxonomy, social behavior, and nesting founding characteristics. Although some species in this group have been used as models for studies on wasp’s biology, they are poorly known in terms of cytogenetics. Here we reported an intraspecific numerical-structural chromosome variation in the swarm-founding wasp Metapolybia decorata from the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest using conventional and molecular cytogenetic techniques. The observed structural chromosome change involved a telomeric fusion that resulted in a chromosome number range of 2n = 34–36. The origin and geographic distribution of the variant chromosome forms as well as their frequency and maintenance in the studied populations are discussed. In addition, we reported a novel and geographically restricted deletion in the fused chromosomes indicating that the species is undergoing a continued process of karyotype evolution leading to fused chromosome stabilization by elimination of inactive centromeric sequences. Evidence of differences in the telomeric sequences of this wasp was also found by in situ hybridization using the motif (T2AG2)7 as probe.

- by Rodolpho Menezes
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- Cytogenetic, Cytogenetics, Genetics and cytogenetics, Chromosome Evolution

A review of the literature concerning the phylogenetics of the Vespidae is presented. We also present a new phylogenetic analysis of the Vespidae based on what is by far the largest taxon sample to include molecular data, and the largest phenotypic
character dataset ever compiled. Relationships among the subfamilies are Euparagiinae + (Masarinae + (Eumeninae + (Stenogastrinae + (Polistinae + Vespinae)))), with all the subfamilies monophyletic. A single origin of eusociality is thus supported. Our results empirically supersede all previous treatments and should be the preferred scaffold of the family for studies of social behavior.

- by James M Carpenter
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- Cladistics, Eumeninae, Social Wasps, Masarinae

A mais primitiva das subfamílias existentes, Euparagiinae, encontra-se presentemente restrita às áreas xéricas do sudoeste dos Estados Unidos e México; a subfamília se difundiu no Período Cretáceo (Carpenter & Rasnitsyn, 1990; Brothers, 1992), ocorrendo na Ásia central e África meridional. 14. CITAÇÃO BIBLIOGRÁFICA (ISO 690-2) CARPENTER, J.M., MARQUES, O.M. Contribuição ao estudo dos vespídeos do Brasil (Insecta, Hymenoptera, Vespoidea, Vespidae) [CD-ROM].

- by James M Carpenter
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- Insect Taxonomy, Neotropics, Potter wasps, Social Wasps

—Sex attraction studies were carried out to investigate the mate-finding behaviour of invasive Vespula vulgaris (Linnaeus) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) wasps. Delta traps were baited with live, caged males, and gynes (virgin queens) of V. vulgaris to determine whether either sex produced a long-range sex attractant. Traps baited with gynes caught 71 males, while the controls and live-male wasp baited traps did not catch gynes. Wind tunnel trials were performed to verify if the signal produced by the gynes was chemical in nature. First, V. vulgaris males were flown to live caged gynes, where more than half of the males tested flew upwind in a zigzagging pattern and made contact with caged gynes. Males were also flown to hexane rinses of gynes and flew upwind in a zigzagging pattern towards the gyne extract, although none made contact with the cotton roll stimulus. The results presented here demonstrate conclusively that V. vulgaris gynes produce a sex pheromone. Résumé—Des e ´tudes d'attraction sexuelle ont e ´té réalisées afin d'e ´tudier le comportement de recherche de partenaire chez la guêpe envahissante Vespula vulgaris (Linnaeus) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Nous avons appâtés des pièges Delta avec des mâles et des gynes (reines vierges) de V. vulgaris vivants et encagés pour déterminer si l'un ou l'autre des sexes produit une substance d'attraction sexuelle a ` longue portée. Les pièges appâtés de gynes ont capturé 71 mâles, alors que les pièges témoins et les pièges contenant des guêpes mâles vivantes n'ont attrapé aucune gyne. Des essais en soufflerie aérodynamique ont permis de vérifier si le signal produit par les gynes est de nature chimique. D'abord, nous avons introduit des mâles de V. vulgaris en vol en direction de gynes vivantes encagées: plus de la moitié des mâles se sont dirigés dans le vent en zigzagant et ont fait contact avec les gynes encagées. Nous avons aussi introduit des mâles en vol en direction de rinçages de gynes a ` l'hexane: les mâles ont volé en zigzagant dans le vent vers l'extrait de gynes, bien qu'aucun n'ait fait contact avec le rouleau de coton servant de stimulus. Nos résultats démontrent de manière décisive que les gynes de V. vulgaris produisent une hormone sexuelle.

- by Bob Brown and +1
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- Animal Behavior, Chemical Communication, Wasps, Social Wasps

The social wasp Mischocyttarus cassununga is easily found in the southeast
and southern Brazil. However, their foraging behavior is little known. The aim
of this study was to examine the foraging behavior and its variation over the seasons.
The study was conducted in Juiz de Fora, Brazil, from July/2007 to
June/2008. A pre-emergent colony and a post-emergent colony were observed
monthly, from 7am to 5pm. The number of wasps that left and arrived to
the nest, as well as information about temperature, air humidity, intensity
of light and speed wind was recorded. In the rainy season, foraging activity
was observed for the whole observation time. This activity was increased in
the afternoon. Spearman's correlation showed that temperature was the only
variable that was positively correlated with departures and multiple linear
regression analysis showed that about 50% of departures were influenced
by temperature and wind speed. In the dry season, the wasps left the nest
later and the flow of individuals was only intense in the middle of the day.
The departures showed positive correlation with temperature and humidity
(Spearman's correlation). Multiple Linear Regression analysis showed that
about 70% of exits were influenced by wind speed. Therefore, individual
behavior can be influenced by environmental changes that promote activities
in the warmer periods throughout the day and seasons.

- by Mariana Monteiro de Castro
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- Ecology and animal behavior, Social Wasps

The "Stenopolistes" species-group of the subgenus Polistella Ashmead, 1904 comprising in Vietnam by six species. Polistes adsimilis Nguyen & Carpenter sp. nov. is described and figured. Polistes khasianus Cameron, 1900 is confirmed to occur in Vietnam, P. pallidus Gusenleitner, 2011 is newly recorded from Vietnam. A key to Vietnamese species is provided. The nest of P. khasianus is described.

- by James M Carpenter
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- Taxonomy, Insect Taxonomy, Social Wasps, Paper wasps
- by Tatiane Tagliatti Maciel and +1
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- Ecology, Wasps, Vespidae, Social Wasps
- by Mateus Clemente
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- Social Wasps

Vespula vulgaris (Linnaeus) is a social vespid native to the Holarctic region. The first detection of this species in Argentina is here reported. Workers were captured close to San Carlos de Bariloche (Argentina) during February 2010, while sampling for another successful invader, the German wasp or Yellowjacket, Vespula germanica (Fabricius). Both these wasp species are very similar morphologically and share a number of common habits. Also, some identification features and biological characters are here explained.

- by James M Carpenter
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- Introduced species, Social Wasps, Yellowjackets
- by James M Carpenter
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- Vespidae, Social Wasps
- by Alexandre Somavilla
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- Parasitic Wasp, Social Wasps

Social wasps are common elements in Neotropics, although even elementary data about this taxon in the Amazon region is partially
unknown. Therefore the purpose of this work was to increase the knowledge of social wasp fauna at the Jaú National Park. A total of 494 specimens
of Polistinae was collected with active search, malaise trap and light trap. Forty-nine species belonging to fourteen genera were recorded. The richest
genera were Polybia (14 species), Agelaia (07), Mischocyttarus (05), Apoica (04), Brachygastra (04) and Protopolybia (04); the remaining genera
were represented by less than two species. The Jaccard similarity coefficient showed a higher similarity of the Jaú National Park with Ducke Reserve
(Manaus, Amazonas). Four species were collected for the first time in Amazonas state Agelaia flavipennis (Ducke), Polybia affinis Du Buysson,
Protopolybia nitida (Ducke) and Protopolybia sedula (de Saussure), only in the Jaú National Park, showing the importance of this park for the social
wasps preservation in the Amazon region.

- by Alexandre Somavilla and +1
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- Social Wasps

Background
The puzzle of the selective benefits of multiple mating and multiple paternity in social insects has been a major focus of research in evolutionary biology. We examine paternity in a clade of social insects, the vespine wasps (the yellowjackets and hornets), which contains species with high multiple paternity as well as species with single paternity. This group is particularly useful for comparative analyses given the wide interspecific variation in paternity traits despite similar sociobiology and ecology of the species in the genera Vespula, Dolichovespula and Vespa. We describe the paternity of 5 species of yellowjackets (Vespula spp.) and we perform a phylogenetically controlled comparative analysis of relatedness, paternity frequency, paternity skew, colony size, and nest site across 22 vespine taxa.
Results
We found moderate multiple paternity in four small-colony Vespula rufa-group species (effective paternity 1.5 – 2.1), and higher multiple paternity in the large-colony Vespula flavopilosa (effective paternity ~3.1). Our comparative analysis shows that colony size, but not nest site, predicts average intracolony relatedness. Underlying this pattern, we found that greater colony size is associated with both higher paternity frequency and reduced paternity skew.
Conclusions
Our results support hypotheses focusing on the enhancement of genetic diversity in species with large colonies, and run counter to the hypothesis that multiple paternity is adaptively maintained due to sperm limitation associated with large colonies. We confirm the patterns observed in taxonomically widespread analyses by comparing closely related species of
wasps with similar ecology, behavior and social organization. The vespine wasps may be a useful group for experimental investigation of the benefits of multiple paternity in the future.

- by Kevin Loope
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- Polyandry, Social Wasps

A key to the genera of Vespidae occurring in Hawai‘i is presented. New generic
synonymies include Chelodynerus Perkins, 1902, and Pseudopterocheilus Perkins,
1901, = Nesodynerus Perkins, 1901. All Hawaiian species presently placed in the genus
Odynerus Latreille are transferred either to Euodynerus Dalla Torre (four species) or to
Nesodynerus (94 species).

- by James M Carpenter
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- Taxonomy, Biodiversity, Introduced species, Eumeninae

The literature provides different methodologies for sampling social
wasps, including, flight intercept trap type Malaise and Attractive
trap, however, there is no consensus on its use. In this respect, the
aim of this study was to evaluate the best use of Malaise traps and
Attractive trap in biodiversity work of social wasps, and generate a
collection protocol for the use of these traps. The study was conducted
in the Parque Estadual do Rio Doce, located in the east of the state
of Minas Gerais, in the years 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004 and in the
Botanical Garden of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, located in
the southeastern state of Minas Gerais, in years 2011, 2012 and 2013.
15 species were collected using Malaise traps, and, 26 species of social
wasps were collected using Attractive traps. Although the negative
aspects of both traps, complementary methodologies surveys varying
social wasps are useful and it is recommended to choose for using in
accordance with the logistical field.

- by Bruno Corrêa Barbosa
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- Entomology, Diversity, Ecology, Biodiversity

The first checklist of the Peruvian Hymenoptera listed 1169 species and subspecies of aculeate wasps, including 173 species of Pompilidae, seven of Scoliidae, 39 of Sphecidae and 403 of Vespidae. Herein are reported 32 species as new for Peru based mainly on the collection of the Natural History Museum, London. The loss of the endemic status of two species is also reported: Entypus peruvianus (Rohwer) (Pompilidae: Pepsinae) and Omicron ruficolle schunkei Giordani Soika (Vespidae: Eumeninae).

- by Fernando Noll
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- Evolutionary Biology, Systematics (Taxonomy), Zoology, Taxonomy

A taxonomic revision of the Protopolybia picteti-emortualis species-group now demonstrates that this group is possibly the largest in Protopolybia, comprising 15 species: P. eldinaris sp. nov.; P. djaneteae sp. nov.; P. cameranii (Zavattari 1906) = P. bella (Von Ihering 1903) syn. nov.; P. fulvotincta stat. rev.; P. biguttata, P. nitida, P. alvarengai, P. iheringi, P. perfulvula, P. steinbachi, P. wheeleri, P. rotundata, P. picteti, P. emortualis and P. duckei. Male and female genitalia are illustrated for P. biguttata Bequaert, P. bella, P. nitida, P. fulvotincta and P. picteti. New collection records and a new identification key are presented for this species-group.

- by James M Carpenter and +1
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- Insect Taxonomy, Neotropics, Social Wasps, Paper wasps

Taxonomy of the paper wasps of the subgenus Gyrostoma of the polistine genus Polistes from Vietnam is treated, with a key to all the five species occurring in Vietnam, including one described herein as new to science under the name... more

- by James M Carpenter
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- Insect Taxonomy, Social Wasps, Oriental Region

A study of wasp similes in the Iliad, with help from ancient Homeric commentators. (NB: written and delivered in Attic Greek)

Leo Pardi (1915-1990) was the initiator of ethological research in Italy. During more than 50 years of active scientific career, he gave groundbreaking contributions to the understanding of social life in insects, especially in Polistes wasps, an important model organism in Sociobiology. In the 1940s, Pardi showed that Polistes societies are organized in a linear Social Hierarchy that relies on Reproductive Dominance and on the physiological and developmental mechanisms that regulate it, i.e. on the status of ovarian development of single wasps. Pardi’s work set the stage for further research on the regulatory mechanisms governing Social life in primitively eusocial species both in wasps and in other insect species. This article reconstructs Pardi’s investigative pathway between 1937 and 1952 in the context of European Ethology and American Animal Sociology. This reconstruction focuses on the development of Pardi’s physiological approach and presents a new perspective on the interacting development of these two fields at the origins of our current understanding of animal social behavior.

- by Guido Caniglia
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- Ethology, History of Science, Sociobiology, Historical Epistemology
- by Tatiane Tagliatti Maciel and +2
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- Ecology, Wasps, Vespidae, Social Wasps
- by Fábio Prezoto and +1
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- Animal Behavior, Foraging ecology, Hymenoptera, Social Wasps

The alignment of molecular sequence data published by Schmitz and Moritz (1998. Molecular phylogeny of Vespidae (Hymenoptera) and the evolution of sociality in wasps, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 9: 183–191) supported closer phylogenetic relationship of Eumeninae to Polistinae + Vespinae than Stenogastrinae, from which they concluded that social behavior has independently evolved twice in the wasp family Vespidae. However, their analyses also showed the Vespidae as paraphyletic in terms of the bee family Apidae. Simultaneous analysis of these molecular data with published morphological and behavioral characters is presented. The resulting cladograms support monophyly of Vespidae, as well as monophyly of social wasps, with the primitively social Stenogastrinae being more closely related to the highly social Polistinae + Vespinae than the solitary Eumeninae. A realignment of the sequence data is also presented, which is more parsimonious than that published by Schmitz and Moritz. Analysis of the realigned sequences also supports monophyly of Vespidae, as well as monophyly of social wasps, with the Stenogastrinae being more closely related to Polistinae + Vespinae than are Eumeninae.

- by James M Carpenter
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- Cladistics, Eumeninae, Social Wasps

The objective of the present study was to find out the fauna of the social wasps of the subfamily Polistinae of Dir Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa Pakistan. Dir is situated in the North of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa at an elevation of 1420 meters with an altitude of 35.1977° N and latitude 71.8749° E. A total of 248 specimens were collected from the study area from April, 2015 to November, 2017. The specimens represented eight species under two genera, Polistes and Ropalidia. The genus Polistes was represented in the area by six species Polistes indicus, P. olivaceous, P. stigma, P. wattii, P. rothneyi and Polistes flavus while the genus Ropalida was represented by two species R. brevata and R. cyathiformis. Among these P. olivaceous, P. wattii, P. flavus and R. brevata were new record for Dir. It was also observed that Polistes wattii was the most abundant species in the area while P. olivaceous and P. rothneyi were widely distributed in the area. All these wasps were found predators on various fruit crops pests and play a pollinating role in the area.

- by Muhammad Rasool
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- Wasps, Social Wasps

Diversity of wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in conventional and organic guarana (Paullinia cupana var. sorbilis) crops in the Brazilian Amazon

- by Alexandre Somavilla
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- Wasps, Social Wasps

Four anopheline and nine culicine mosquito species have been reported from Murree Hills. Culex raptor has been recorded for the first time from Pakistan. All other species, Anopheles stephensi, An. maculatus, An. theobaldi, An. fluviatilis, Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus, Culex fatigans, Cx. vagans, Cx. nilgiricus, Cx. fuscitarsis, Cx. raptor, Culiseta longiareolata and Armigeres obturbans are recorded from new localities like Baroha, Terrat, Ghora Gali, Pindi Point, Kashmir Point and Jhika Gali during 2012-2013. A tentative key for all recorded species has been given. All species have been illustrated with identification characters along with their distribution range in Murree Hills. Main objective of this study was to explore the mosquito fauna of Murree Hills and to determine the distribution of various species during various months of the year.

- by M Qasim Shah
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- Taxonomy, Biodiversity, Identification, Mosquito Taxonomy

ABSTRACT This study aimed at testing the utility of characters derived from chitinous structures of the sting apparatus for elucidating relationships among the genera of Epiponini. The characters were obtained from the spiracular and quadrate plates, gonostylus, and sting. The data matrix was analyzed using parsimony with equal and implied weighting. Sting characters were also optimized on the tree of Wenzel & Carpenter (1994). Consensus of analysis using equal weights parsimony resulted in a tree with low resolution, but the use of implied weighting improved the results and a consensus tree with a better resolution was obtained. Implied weighting analysis showed an interesting result with Vespinae and Epiponini (the taxa that present the highest degree of sociality) together in a clade. The overall uniformity in morphology of sting apparatus and a possible influence of sociality on morphology could explain these results. The evolution of some characters is discussed.

- by Fernando Noll
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- Systematics (Taxonomy), Zoology, Phylogenetics, Morphology

In French Guiana, the arboreal nests of the swarm-founding social wasp Protopolybia emortualis (Polistinae) are generally found near those of the arboreal dolichoderine ant Dolichoderus bidens. These wasp nests are typically protected by an envelope, which in turn is covered by an additional carton ‘shelter’ with structure resembling the D. bidens nests. A few wasps constantly guard their nest to keep D. bidens workers from approaching. When alarmed by a strong disturbance, the ants invade the host tree foliage whereas the wasps retreat into their nest. Notably, there is no chemical convergence in the cuticular profiles of the wasps and ants sharing a tree. The aggressiveness of D. bidens likely protects the wasps from army ant raids, but the ants do not benefit from the presence of the wasps; therefore, this relationship corresponds to a kind of commensalism.

- by James M Carpenter
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- Ants, Neotropics, Social Wasps

Several studies have shown that habitat complexity is an important factor for the dynamic and stability of interacting species. However, it is not known how the habitat complexity may affect the tolerance of wasp-flower interactions to local extinction. Based on this perspective, in this study, we aimed to compare the tolerance of wasp flower visiting guild to local extinction in two different types of vegetation (Riparian Forest and Rocky Grassland). Through observations made during one year, we verified that the structure of the plant-wasp interaction network differed between the two areas, as well as that the robustness to cumulative extinctions had different patterns. The simulations of cumulative removal of species showed that the network in the Riparian Forest is more robust against the removal of both plants and wasps than that network in Rocky Grassland, since their extinction curves declined more slowly. Therefore, in our study area, we demonstrate that social wasp-plant in...

- by Fábio Prezoto
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- Zoology, Sociobiology, Social Wasps

Social wasps are broadly distributed in Brazil, and their distribution is closely related to local plant composition. However, only a few studies on the diversity of these insects have been carried out in northeastern Brazil, and in Caatinga Biome the diversity is probably underestimated due to the lack of inventories for the region. Aiming at advancing the knowledge about the wasp fauna, we carried out this study from October 2005 to September 2006 in Ibipeba, northeastern Brazil. We collected 172 wasps of five genera and eight species, and recorded Polybia ruficeps Schrottky, 1902 for the first time in the state of Bahia. The most abundant species was Polybia ignobilis (Haliday, 1836) (n = 69), and the least abundant were Brachygastra lecheguana (Latreille, 1824) (n = 2) and Polistes canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) (n = 2). The present study inventory focused exclusively on the diversity of social wasps in an area of Caatinga, which contributes to advance the local fauna knowledge.

- by Bruno Corrêa Barbosa and +2
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- Ecology, Hymenoptera, Hymenoptera: Vespidae, Social Wasps

"Nestmate discrimination plays an important role in preserving the integrity of social insect colonies. It is
known to occur in the primitively eusocial wasp Ropalidia marginata in which non-nestmate conspecifics
are not allowed to come near a nest. However, newly eclosed females are accepted in foreign colonies,
suggesting that such individuals may not express the cues that permit differentiation between nestmates
and non-nestmates. As cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) have been implicated as chemosensory cues used
in nestmate recognition in other species, we investigated, using bioassays and chemical analyses,
whether CHCs can play a role in nestmate recognition in R. marginata. We found that individuals can be
differentiated according to colony membership using their CHC profiles, suggesting a role of CHCs in
nestmate discrimination. Non-nestmate CHCs of adult females received more aggression than nestmate
CHCs, thereby showing that CHCs are used as cues for nestmate recognition. Contrarily, and as expected,
CHCs of newly eclosed females were not discriminated against when presented to a foreign colony.
Behavioural sequence analysis revealed the behavioural mechanism involved in sensing nestmate
recognition cues.We also found that newly eclosed females had a different CHC profile from that of adult
females, thereby providing an explanation for why young females are accepted in foreign colonies."

- by Aniruddha Mitra and +1
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- Animal Behavior, Chemical Ecology, Social insects, Behavioral Ecology
- by James M Carpenter
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- Book Review, Social Wasps

Landscape fragmentation is one of the greatest threats to environments globally, affecting all living organisms within fragments at many assembly levels. Despite such general assumptions, very few reports exist on the diversity patterns of Amazonian social wasps (Polistinae) in response to fragmentation. Our study aims at addressing how the community patterns of social wasp change from continuous to fragmented landscapes in the Amazon rainforest. We collected social wasps for a year (11 520 trap-hour effort) in a continuous forest and a highly disturbed urban forest fragment, located in Manaus, Brazil. We attracted wasps using sardine and orange juice traps, placed in 20 sampling plots. We collected 2742 wasps from 29 species. Agelaia pallipes, Angiopolybia pallens and Agelaia fulvofasciata were the most abundant species. We detected significant differences in overall abundance, species richness and species composition of social wasps between landscapes. Conversely, no difference in species diversity (ef-fective number of species) was found between habitats. Despite the low quantity of exclusive species, the numbers of most species declined sharply in the fragmented habitat, while for one species (Polybia rejecta), abundance increased. Regarding the percentile of species contribution to dissimilarity between landscapes, five out of the first six species were highly abundant (>100 individuals), thus demonstrating that the observed pattern was very likely driven by common species. Additionally, our findings highlight that fragmentation threatens abundant species as much as rare species. We hope that our results encourage the use of social wasps as models in basic and applied ecological surveys and further efforts for conservation of pristine forest areas in the tropical region of South America.

- by Alexandre Somavilla
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- Entomology, Ecology, Vespidae, Social Wasps

The objective of this work was to verify the occurrence of social wasp genera and the substrates used for nesting in urban gardens in an area in Southeastern Brazil. The study was carried out in the municipality of Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais State, from March to April of 2008. Active searching was conducted for colonies of social wasps along an area of nine urban gardens. For each colony that was found we identified the genus, type of substrate used for nesting and height of the colony in relation to the ground level. 135 colonies of social wasps were found belonging to four genera: Protopolybia (n=99; 73.33%), Polybia (n=25; 18.52%), Polistes (n=7; 5.19%) and Mischocyttarus (n=4; 2.96%). The abundance of swarm-founding wasp colonies was significantly higher (x 2 = 92.919; p< 0.0001) than that of independentfounding wasps. All the colonies were found in vegetation: Mauritia flexuosa (n=103; 76.3%), Dracaena fragans (n=29; 21.48%), Cocos nucifera (n=2; 1.48%) and Tibouchina granulosa (n=1; 0.74%). There was a tendency for a positive correlation between the number of colonies found and size of the green area (r = 0.6387; p= 0.0640), but there was no correlation between the number of colonies found and total area of the garden (r = 0.3698; p= 0.3273). The dominance index for the colonies of Protopolybia was superior (d= 0.73) in comparison to those indexes recorded for the other genera (0.18 for Polybia; 0.05 for Polistes and 0.03 for Mischocyttarus). Most of the swarmfounding wasp colonies were found below two meters in height (n=77) and all the colonies of independent foundation were above two meters (n=11).

- by Mariana Monteiro de Castro
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- Ecology and animal behavior, Social Wasps

Polistes versicolor (Olivier) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) colonies are easily found in anthropic
environments; however there is little information available on biological, ecological and
behavioral interactions of this species under these environmental conditions. The objective of this
work was to characterize the foundation pattern, the productivity, and the success of colonies of
P. versicolor in anthropic environments. From August 2003 to December 2004, several colonies
were studied in the municipal district of Juiz de Fora, Southeastern Brazil. It was possible to
determine that before the beginning of nest construction the foundress accomplishes recognition
flights in the selected area, and later begins the construction of the peduncle and the first cell. As
soon as new cells are built, the hexagonal outlines appear and the peduncle is reinforced .
Foundation of nests on gypsum plaster was significantly larger (p < 0.0001; χ2 test) in relation to
the other types of substrate, revealing the synantropism of the species. On average, the P.
versicolor nest presents 244.2 ± 89.5 (100-493) cells and a medium production of 171.67 ±
109.94 (37-660) adults. Cells that produced six individuals were verified. Usually, new colonies
were founded by an association of females, responsible for the success of 51.5%. Although these
results enlarge knowledge on the foundation pattern of P. versicolor in anthropic environments,
other aspects of the foundation process require further investigation.

- by Mariana Monteiro de Castro
- •
- Ecology and animal behavior, Social Wasps

Like other social insects, the wasps can store liquid and solid foods inside
the cells of the nests. This study describes the occurrence of honey storage in
colonies of the independently-founding wasp Mischocyttarus cassununga. During
the month of August of 2007 (cold season), 80 colonies of M. cassununga
were inspected in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. 26.25% (n=21) of
the colonies searched showed honey inside the cells. Seven of these colonies
were in the pre-emergence phase and 14 in post-emergence. A chromatographic
test was used to identify the substance present in the nests, confirming that
it consists of a sugary substance. There was no pattern for the distribution of
the cells with honey in the nests, which were random. However, the storage
always happened in empty cells (44.44%) or cells with eggs (53.97%) or small
larvae (1.59%). The behavior of storing honey in colonies of M. cassununga
seems to be a strategy designed to increase the success of foraging activities
through the storage of an abundant food resource in a time of the year when
food is not abundantly available.

- by Mariana Monteiro de Castro
- •
- Ecology and animal behavior, Social Wasps

The nectarless orchid, Steveniella satyrioides (Spreng.) Schltr., occurs in the mountain part of the Crimean Peninsula; it is known from 26 localities 10 of which were found during the last 50 years. Pollination ecology of the species was studied in Ayan Natural Landmark (Simferopol District). From 1 to 55 individuals of this species flowered here in different years; one year there was no flowering plants. The pollination rate of S. satyrioides varies from 16 % to 79 % and positively correlates with the density of specialized pollinators -females of diplopterous wasps of genera Vespula Thomson, 1869, and Dolichovespula Rohwer, 1916. A probable mechanism of attraction of wasps by flowers of S. satyrioides and its evolution are discussed.

- by Alexander Fateryga
- •
- Floristics, Pollination ecology, Orchids, Social Wasps

- by Paolo Capretti
- •
- Ecology, Multidisciplinary, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Social behavior

Phylogenetic relationships among the species of the genus Brachygastra Perty, 1883, are analyzed based on characters of female morphology, male genitalia, and nest architecture. Analysis of the data matrix with equal weights results in one tree, which is also obtained under implied weighting. A new species is described and an identification key is presented. The males of B. borellii and B. scutellaris are described.

- by Sergio Andena
- •
- Cladistics, Social Wasps

Social Wasps Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)