The Respiratory Metabolism of Polistes biglumis, a Paper Wasp from Mountainous Regions

Abstract

European Polistine wasps inhabit mainly temperate and warm climate regions. However, the paper wasp Polistes biglumis represents an exception; it resides in mountainous areas, e.g., in the Alps and in the Apennines. In these habitats, the wasps are exposed to a broad temperature range during their lifetime. We investigated whether they developed adaptations in their metabolism to their special climate conditions by measuring their CO 2 production. The standard or resting metabolic rate and the metabolism of active wasps was measured in the temperature range which they are exposed to in their habitat in summer. The standard metabolic rate increased in a typical exponential progression with ambient temperature, like in other wasps. The active metabolism also increased with temperature, but not in a simple exponential course. Some exceptionally high values were presumed to originate from endothermy. The simultaneous measurement of body temperature and metabolic rate revealed a strong correlation between these two parameters. The comparison of the standard metabolic rate of Polistes biglumis with that of Polistes dominula revealed a significantly lower metabolism of the alpine wasps. This energy saving metabolic strategy could be an adaptation to the harsh climate conditions, which restricts foraging flights and energy recruitment.

Temperature Tolerance and Thermal Environment of European Seed Bugs

“…Up to 10 measurement chambers were used for the bugs; the thermocouple for measuring the temperature was placed in an additional similar chamber, near the animals. Following a standardized method (e.g., [45][46][47]), the experiments started at a temperature of 25 • C. After 10 min of habituation, we drove a temperature ramp up to 50 • C at a rate of 0.25 • C/min. Again, the animals' behavior was recorded via video camera for later evaluation.…”

Chemically Insignificant Social Parasites Exhibit More Anti-Dehydration Behaviors than Their Hosts

“…The first brood emerges in July and the nest is abandoned less than two months later (end of August-early September) [61]. The colony cycle is therefore very short due to harsh climatic conditions which are reflected into extreme microclimatic variations at the nest, where temperatures in June-July-August may vary between 5 • C (typically, during the night and bad weather) to highs of >40 • C (midday hours in sunny days) [76].…”

Effect of climate on strategies of nest and body temperature regulation in paper wasps, Polistes biglumis and Polistes gallicus

“…Brood development is especially dependent on environmental conditions in open-nesting species like Polistes gallicus and Polistes biglumis . Polistine wasps inhabiting differing climates are expected to show differing reaction norms and sensitivities to temperature 36 , 37 . Adults of Polistes biglumis inhabiting Alpine climate, for example, have a considerably lower resting energy turnover and sensitivity to temperature changes than Polistes gallicus inhabiting Mediterranean climate 36 .…”

“…Polistine wasps inhabiting differing climates are expected to show differing reaction norms and sensitivities to temperature 36 , 37 . Adults of Polistes biglumis inhabiting Alpine climate, for example, have a considerably lower resting energy turnover and sensitivity to temperature changes than Polistes gallicus inhabiting Mediterranean climate 36 . We hypothesize that the differences in climate which these two open-nesting paper wasps experience also influence their behavioral strategies of nest thermoregulation.…”