Experimental male size manipulation in<i>Polistes dominula</i>paper wasps: being the right size

Beani, L.; Zaccaroni, Marco

doi:10.1080/03949370.2014.915431

Cited by 12 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Images were taken with a BIO-RAD Molecular Imager gel doc XR System. , were not associated with head width, confirming previous findings on male reproductive apparatus and body size (see Beani and Zaccaroni, 2015). CA volume (Table 1) was significantly affected by age (F = 7.386, P = 0.011, N = 34; Fig.…”

Section: Electrophoresis and Protein Assay Analysis Of The Male Accessupporting

confidence: 90%

“…As observed in other insects (Happ, 1992;Gillot, 1996;Gillott, 2003), also in Polistes the long storage of male sperm in the female spermatheca before egg fertilization could support a role for AG secretion as a key player involved in both male and female reproduction. In a previous experiment, P. dominula males with larger glands mated at a higher frequency than did males with smaller glands, regardless of their body size (Beani and Zaccaroni, 2015), and a similar relationship was recorded in Drosophila melanogaster (Bangham et al, 2002). The development of male reproductive organs, unrelated to body size, mirrors the weak link between ovaries and body size in P. dominula females (Dapporto and Palagi, 2006).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 57%

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Subtle effect of Xenos vesparum (Xenidae, Strepsiptera) on the reproductive apparatus of its male host: Parasite or parasitoid?

Beani

Marchini

Cappa

et al. 2017

Journal of Insect Physiology

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A B S T R A C TParasitic castration is an adaptive strategy where parasites usurp the hosts' reproductive physiology to complete their life cycle. The alterations in the host traits vary in their magnitude, from subtle changes in the host morphophysiology and behaviour to the production of complex aberrant phenotypes, which often depend on the host gender. The strepsipteran macroparasite Xenos vesparum induces dramatic behavioural and physiological changes in its female host, the paper wasp Polistes dominula, while its effect on the male phenotype is largely unknown.In this study we investigated how a single X. vesparum parasite influences the functional morphology of P. dominula male reproductive apparatus. We performed morphometry and ultrastructure characterization of corpora allata, testes, seminal vesicles and accessory glands in parasitized and unparasitized males, and also in young and old males to control for the effect of age on the natural deterioration of these organs. Our results show that age significantly affects the development of male reproductive apparatus. A low parasite load -one parasite per host is the common prevalence in the field -has only a marginal impact on the reproductive morphology of P. dominula males, affecting quantitatively but not qualitatively the protein content of male accessory glands. Thus, in male P. dominula wasps, X. vesparum appears to behave as a true "parasite", in clear opposition to the role of "parasitoid" that it takes in female hosts where castration causes the reproductive death.

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Section: Electrophoresis and Protein Assay Analysis Of The Male Accessupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 57%

Subtle effect of Xenos vesparum (Xenidae, Strepsiptera) on the reproductive apparatus of its male host: Parasite or parasitoid?

Beani

Marchini

Cappa

et al. 2017

Journal of Insect Physiology

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“…Schlüns et al . () observed a connection between drone's size and fertility, as did Beani and Zaccarini () and Beani et al . () on Polistes , but for V. velutina males, the sperm quantity in the seminal vesicles could not be related to the body size of the hornet males in the same season.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

Delayed sexual maturity in males ofVespa velutina

et al. 2017

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Vespa velutina var nigrithorax (Lepelletier, 1835) is an invasive predator of bees accidentally introduced in France in 2004, and it is having a serious impact on apiculture and ecosystems. Studying the reproduction of an invasive species is key to assess its population dynamic. This study explores the sexual maturation of V. velutina males and the evolution of their fertility. The main studied parameters were physiologic (spermiogenesis, spermatogenesis) and anatomic (testes size and structure, head width). Two populations of males were described based on their emergence period: early males in early summer or classic males in autumn. Each testis has an average of 108 testicular follicles. Spermatogenesis is synchronous, with only 1 sperm production wave, and completed, on average, at 10.3 d after emergence with the degeneration of the testes. The sperm counts in seminal vesicles of mature males are 3 × 10 in October/November and 0.8 × 10 in June. In comparison, females store 0.1 × 10 sperm in their spermathecae. The early males emerged from colonies made by fertilized queens. The reproductive potential of these early males seemed limited, and their function in the colony is discussed. The sperm stock evolution in autumn males suggests the occurrence of a reproductive pattern of male competition for the access to females and a single copulation per male. The synchronicity of male and foundress emergences and sexual maturation is of primary importance for the mating success and the future colony development.

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“…Sex discrimination via visual and chemical cues has already been demonstrated in other social Hymenoptera (Keeping et al 1986;Nonacs and Carlin 1990;Passera and Aron 1996;Derstine et al 2017;Cappa et al 2019) and in P. dominula in the social environment of the nest (Cappa et al 2016a). Individual chemical profiles may also play a relevant role in the mating context of leks, to assess the identity and the quality of a potential partner or rival: this is suggested by the observations of successful or attempted copulations by resident males with females landing inside their territory, whereas intruder males are the target of aggressive interactions (Beani and Turillazzi 1988;Beani and Zaccaroni 2015).…”

Section: Chemical Discrimination Of Sexmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…semenowi, Lorenzi et al, 1994). Male mating success in P. dominula is affected by lek persistence, territorial defense, scent marking, mate guarding, and, as regards morphological traits, large body size, welldeveloped accessory glands (Beani and Zaccaroni 2015) and by two yellow abdominal spots which act as visual signals. These condition-dependent ornaments are sexually selected for their elliptical regular shape and small size Tibbetts 2012, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cuticular hydrocarbons as cues of sex and health condition in Polistes dominula wasps

et al. 2019

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In the paper wasp Polistes dominula, cuticular hydrocarbons play a critical role to acquire information regarding conspecific individuals. However, the relationship between cuticular hydrocarbons, health status, and male sexually selected traits is poorly investigated. In this study, we characterized the cuticular hydrocarbon profile of adult male and female wasps, infected or not by the strepsipteran endoparasite Xenos vesparum, to assess whether the chemical signature provides information about sex and health status (parasite infection). Moreover, we tested whether the chemical profile reflects male quality as measured via morphological and behavioural (sexually selected) traits at leks. Our results showed that males and females had similar total amount of CHCs, quantitatively different profiles and, to a lesser extent, sex-specific chemical compounds. Cuticular profiles were influenced by the strepsipteran infection, and the effect was stronger in females (the primary host) than in males, according to the physiological castration of female but not of male hosts. Regarding territorial and non-territorial males, no significant difference emerged in their chemical profiles. Furthermore, sex-dimorphic visual signals (size, shape, and asymmetry of abdominal yellow spots) were related to the behavioural displays of territorial males. We hypothesize that cuticular hydrocarbons are potential multi-role cues to assess sex and health status in male and female wasps, in synergy with visual signals and territorial performance in signaling male quality.

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Experimental male size manipulation inPolistes dominulapaper wasps: being the right size

Cited by 12 publications

References 56 publications

Subtle effect of Xenos vesparum (Xenidae, Strepsiptera) on the reproductive apparatus of its male host: Parasite or parasitoid?

Subtle effect of Xenos vesparum (Xenidae, Strepsiptera) on the reproductive apparatus of its male host: Parasite or parasitoid?

Delayed sexual maturity in males ofVespa velutina

Cuticular hydrocarbons as cues of sex and health condition in Polistes dominula wasps

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