Research Techniques Used in the Study of Social Wasps

Jeanne, Robert L.; Taylor, B. J.

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-53510-0_19

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 85 publications

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“…Individuals obtained from natural and artificial diets were anesthetized with carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) for 30 s and tethered to the flight mills with an entomological pin glued to the back of the thorax using cyanoacrylate glue (La Gotita; Akapol, Buenos Aires, Argentina). Previous studies report that CO 2 effects on behavior and physiology are minor and short‐lived (Jeanne & Taylor, 2021) and drones were left to recover for 5 min before the trials started. Assays were performed under controlled laboratory conditions, with light‐emitting diode (LED) illumination, and controlled temperature (22 ± 1 °C) and humidity (45 ± 5% r.h.) during 8 h per individual.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flight capabilities of invasive yellowjacket Vespula germanica drones: the effect of kinship and nutrition

Porrino,

Martínez,

Villacide

et al. 2023

Entomologia Exp Applicata

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Dispersal is a multifactorial process which may influence, among several others, population dynamics, inbreeding likelihood, and mate competition. For species that disperse by flight, many studies have suggested that life‐history traits, such as body size or nutritional condition, could promote variation in flight capabilities and, consequently, on dispersal behavior. Eusocial hymenopterans are likely to experience high densities of related reproductive individuals near their nests, thus increasing probabilities of inbred matings and kin competition. Spatial segregation resulting from differences in flight capabilities of Vespula germanica (Fabricius) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) nestmate drones could reduce interactions with kin, thus decrease inbreeding and kin competition. Our aim was to characterize, in the laboratory, flight capabilities of sibling drones and elucidate traits that could affect it, focusing on the relevance of carbohydrate intake (diets with different sugar concentration) during early adulthood. Our results indicate that in tethered flight mill assays, V. germanica drones have highly variable flight capabilities within and between nests, with most drones likely to remain relatively close to their nest of origin. The observed flight capabilities are affected by nutrition, with those individuals better nurtured (i.e., with higher nutritional index), flying farther distances. Additionally, diets with variable carbohydrate concentration provided during early adulthood did not affect flight capabilities (only those exposed to a carbohydrate‐free diet had reduced flight distances and speeds), suggesting that nutrition during larval stages is determinant for flight. Our findings contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms underlying V. germanica drone dispersal behavior which, in turn, might influence inbreeding likelihood in the species.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flight capabilities of invasive yellowjacket Vespula germanica drones: the effect of kinship and nutrition

Porrino,

Martínez,

Villacide

et al. 2023

Entomologia Exp Applicata

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“…n) Adult size does not exceed the size of a honeybee and can easily be marked for individual recognition by the researchers [9,15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vespiculture of Polistes Dominula (Hymenoptera, Vespidae): From Laboratory Research to Applicative Uses

Turillazzi

2023

SBB

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Polistes dominula, a model species paper wasps of the family Vespidae has been for long reared in captivity for studies on its social biology. Various laboratory breeding systems have allowed many researchers to deepen their knowledge on social behavior, physiology, development, nest construction techniques of this species with results that can also be extended to other social animals. However, like other congeneric species, it also has the potential to be used for useful services to man if bred in the field with vespiculture techniques that will have to be increasingly perfected. Here we briefly trace the story and the perspectives of Polistes vespiculture in times of scarcity of these insects.

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Sugar responsiveness could determine foraging patterns in yellowjackets

Masciocchi,

Mattiacci,

Villacide

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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Sympatric-related species often exhibit resource partitioning. This can occur through different mechanisms, such as behavioral, morphological, and sensory variations, leading to qualitative, temporal, or spatial differences in resource exploitation, such as consuming different types of food. Sensory-based niche partitioning could be the underlying mechanism through which closely related species effectively reduce niche overlap. Here we ask whether variations in sensory responses to carbohydrates could reflect differences in the foraging patterns of two Vespula species present in Patagonia. For this, we established (i) the response thresholds toward carbohydrate solutions of foraging V. germanica and V. vulgaris in the laboratory, (ii) the sugar concentration of foraged carbohydrates in the field, and (iii) possible effects of incoming sugar concentration and performance at individual and colony levels. Results indicate a higher sucrose response threshold in V. germanica than V. vulgaris. Field results indicate that higher carbohydrate concentrations foraged by V. germanica, with 57% of V. germanica foragers returning with concentrations above 50% w/w, while only 23% of V. vulgaris foragers did so. These differences in sucrose sensitivity and foraging patterns positively correlate with colony size, irrespective of the species. Our results suggest that competition could be reduced in these closely related invasive social wasp species through sensory differences in their sugar perception levels, which would lead to them foraging different carbohydrate sources. This study suggests that sensory niche partitioning could promote species coexistence in these social wasps.

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Research Techniques Used in the Study of Social Wasps

Cited by 3 publications

References 85 publications

Flight capabilities of invasive yellowjacket Vespula germanica drones: the effect of kinship and nutrition

Flight capabilities of invasive yellowjacket Vespula germanica drones: the effect of kinship and nutrition

Vespiculture of Polistes Dominula (Hymenoptera, Vespidae): From Laboratory Research to Applicative Uses

Sugar responsiveness could determine foraging patterns in yellowjackets

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