Castes and asynchronous colony cycle in Polybia bistriata (Fabricius) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

Field observations were made on 37 preworker, multiple-foundress colonies of the social wasp Polistes fuscatus. In total, 401.9 h of behavioural observations of cofoundresses were conducted at three different periods prior to the emergence of workers. Cofoundresses displayed a marked, significant increase in aggression at about the time in the colony cycle when reproductive-destined eggs began to be laid. Both queens and their subordinates became increasingly aggressive at this time. These empirical results support theoretical predictions that conflict among cofoundresses would intensify over the production of reproductive-destined (but not worker-destined) eggs. Cooperation in foraging to minimize nest inattendance as well as synchronicity (temporal overlap) in activity also increased significantly at the onset of the production of reproductive-destined eggs. Thus, conflict and cooperation are not necessarily antagonistic in P. fuscatus. Foundresses minimized the time that nests are unattended at a time in the colony cycle when most conspecific usurpations occur. This suggests that the ecological pressure of conspecific usurpation has favoured increased coordination in foraging to minimize the time nests are unattended. The adaptive significance, if any, of an increase in synchronicity of activity among cofoundresses at the onset of the production of reproductives is not obvious.

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AN ENORMOUS NEST OF VESPULA SQUAMOSA FROM FLORIDA, THE LARGEST SOCIAL WASP NEST REPORTED FROM NORTH AMERICA, WITH NOTES ON COLONY CYCLE AND REPRODUCTION

Journal of the New York Entomological Society ◽

10.1664/0028-7199(2001)109[0408:aenovs]2.0.co;2 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 109 (3 & 4) ◽

pp. 408-415 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

K. M. Pickett ◽

D. M. Osborne ◽

D. Wahl ◽

J. W. Wenzel

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

Social Wasp ◽

Colony Cycle

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Evidence for geographic variation in colony social organization in an obligately social sweat bee, Lasioglossum malachurum Kirby (Hymenoptera; Halictidae)

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z00-064 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 78 (7) ◽

pp. 1259-1266 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Miriam H Richards

Keyword(s):

Social Organization ◽

Western Europe ◽

Late Summer ◽

Species Variation ◽

Sweat Bee ◽

Colony Cycle ◽

Social Species ◽

Lasioglossum Malachurum ◽

Reproductive Brood ◽

Southern Greece

The expression of altruism and colony eusociality are both a matter of degree in social sweat bees. Even in obligately social species, variation in these traits may be observed across a species' range. Lasioglossum (Evylaeus) malachurum (Kirby) is an obligately eusocial sweat bee found across Europe. In western Europe, L. malachurum exhibits north-south clines of increasing colony size associated with the production of more worker broods, and worker production of males, but societies conform to the model of a classically eusocial hymenopteran insect. A population of L. malachurum studied from 1994 to 1998 at Agios Nikolaos Monemvasias in southern Greece exhibits a startlingly different type of social structure. Dissections of female bees collected while foraging on flowers or from excavations of nests showed that the majority of mid- to late-summer workers are mated and (or) have developing ovaries, indicating that some workers are highly reproductive. Nest excavations indicated that in many or most colonies, the queen has disappeared by midsummer, before ovipositing the final, reproductive brood. In orphan nests, workers become the major reproductives, which suggests that males and gynes in the final brood are the offspring of workers. The very long breeding season in southern Greece may explain why colonies often outlive their queen. The result is the expression of a multivoltine colony cycle and a behavioural switch from eusocial to semisocial colony organization.

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The disappearance of subordinate foundresses in paper wasps: eviction by nestmates or reproductive strategy?

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z99-176 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 77 (12) ◽

pp. 1928-1933 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

George J Gamboa ◽

Janet L Savoyard ◽

Laura M Panek

Keyword(s):

Reproductive Strategy ◽

Indirect Evidence ◽

Social Wasp ◽

Time Interval ◽

Paper Wasps ◽

Polistes Fuscatus ◽

Colony Cycle ◽

The Social ◽

Behavioural Evidence ◽

Related Mortality

Videotaped observations (371.3 h) were conducted in 1995, 1996, and 1997 on 50 multiple-foundress colonies of the social wasp Polistes fuscatus. Observations were made during the mid-preworker, late-preworker, and early-postworker stages of the colony cycle. The vast majority of lost subordinate cofoundresses (62 of 77) disappeared during the time interval from 2 weeks before to 4 weeks after the emergence of the first workers. The loss of subordinates did not appear to be the result of senescence or foraging-related mortality. Lost subordinates were from productive and presumably healthy colonies. In colonies containing two or more subordinates, lost subordinates had significantly greater dominance ranks than expected. There was no behavioural evidence that lost subordinates were evicted from their colony by queens, other subordinate foundresses, or workers. Lost subordinates were not observed to renest, join sister colonies, or adopt orphaned nests. Our results indicate that lost subordinates leave colonies of their own volition. Indirect evidence from other studies suggests that subordinates may disperse and usurp colonies from other sites.

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SEASONAL VARIATION IN BODY SIZE AND REPRODUCTIVE CONDITION OF A PAPER WASP, POLISTES METRICUS (HYMENOPTERA: VESPIDAE)

The Canadian Entomologist ◽

10.4039/ent112239-3 ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 112 (3) ◽

pp. 239-248 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

Constance M. Haggard ◽

George J. Gamboa

Keyword(s):

Seasonal Variation ◽

Body Size ◽

Older Workers ◽

The Body ◽

Paper Wasp ◽

Head Width ◽

Reproductive Condition ◽

Polistes Metricus ◽

Colony Cycle ◽

Similar Body

AbstractSeasonal morphometric analysis of 788 adult Polistes metricus Say showed that: (1) Queens sampled throughout the colony cycle were of similar body size but significantly smaller than fall gynes. (2) Queens’ ovaries are large in the spring, decline early in the colony cycle, peak near the mid-postemergence period and decline late in the colony cycle. (3) There are no significant correlations between head width, ovary width, and size of nest in workers or queens. (4) Early and late workers are small but workers emerging during the mid-postemergence period are large. (5) All workers and gynes emerge with small, similar sized ovaries but older workers may develop larger ovaries. (6) Queens are larger than early and late workers but the same size as workers emerging during the mid-postemergence period. (7) The class with the largest adults were intermediates collected when colonies began production of males. These adults, intermediate in fat content between workers and gynes, comprised a large proportion of females emerging late in the colony cycle. (8) The body size of gynes is independent of colony size. (9) Males were significantly more variable in body size than gynes.

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