Comparison of intraspecific nest usurpation between two haplometrotic paper wasp species (Hymenoptera: Vespidae:Polistes)

1991 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shun'ichi Makino ◽  
Katsuhiko Sayama
Keyword(s):  
Paper Wasp ◽  
Wasp Species ◽  
Nest Usurpation

scholarly journals Expansion and accelerated evolution of 9-exon odorant receptors in Polistes paper wasps

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew W Legan ◽  
Christopher M Jernigan ◽  
Sara E Miller ◽  
Matthieu F Fuchs ◽  
Michael J Sheehan
Keyword(s):  
Gene Family ◽  
Odorant Receptor ◽  
Receptor Gene ◽  
Gene Tree ◽  
Gene Family Evolution ◽  
Paper Wasp ◽  
Gene Copy ◽  
Evolutionary Divergence ◽  
Wasp Species ◽  
Or Gene

Abstract Independent origins of sociality in bees and ants are associated with independent expansions of particular odorant receptor (OR) gene subfamilies. In ants, one clade within the OR gene family, the 9-exon subfamily, has dramatically expanded. These receptors detect cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs), key social signaling molecules in insects. It is unclear to what extent 9-exon OR subfamily expansion is associated with the independent evolution of sociality across Hymenoptera, warranting studies of taxa with independently derived social behavior. Here we describe odorant receptor gene family evolution in the northern paper wasp, Polistes fuscatus, and compare it to four additional paper wasp species spanning ∼40 million years of evolutionary divergence. We find 200 putatively functional OR genes in P. fuscatus, matching predictions from neuroanatomy, and more than half of these are in the 9-exon subfamily. Most OR gene expansions are tandemly arrayed at orthologous loci in Polistes genomes, and microsynteny analysis shows species-specific gain and loss of 9-exon ORs within tandem arrays. There is evidence of episodic positive diversifying selection shaping ORs in expanded subfamilies. Values of omega (d  N/dS) are higher among 9-exon ORs compared to other OR subfamilies. Within the Polistes OR gene tree, branches in the 9-exon OR clade experience relaxed negative (purifying) selection relative to other branches in the tree. Patterns of OR evolution within Polistes are consistent with 9-exon OR function in CHC perception by combinatorial coding, with both natural selection and neutral drift contributing to interspecies differences in gene copy number and sequence.

Joint nest use by two paper wasp species

1978 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 373-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
James H. Hunt ◽  
George J. Gamboa
Keyword(s):  
Paper Wasp ◽  
Wasp Species

scholarly journals Bright green fluorescence of Asian paper wasp nests

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (181) ◽  
pp. 20210418
Author(s):  
Willy Daney de Marcillac ◽  
Lien Thi Phuong Nguyen ◽  
Camille Aracheloff ◽  
Serge Berthier ◽  
Bernd Schöllhorn
Keyword(s):  
Visible Spectrum ◽  
Paper Wasp ◽  
Quantum Yields ◽  
Biological Functions ◽  
Wasp Species ◽  
Fluorescence Quantum Yields ◽  
Natural Fluorescence ◽  
Bright Green ◽  
High Fluorescence ◽  
Wasp Nests

An exceptionally bright fluorescent biomatter was discovered when exploring, with UV-A light, the nests of several oriental paper wasp species of the genus Polistes , a genus of diurnal social insects. Fluorescence spectra of the cocoon cap membranes revealed narrow emission bands in the green range of the visible spectrum. Large Stokes shifts of around 160 nm and high fluorescence quantum yields of up to 35% were measured. Transmission spectra were recorded in order to estimate the contribution of the fluorescence to the visible light transmitted through the cocoon cap membrane. The nest fluorescence of the Vietnamese wasps was compared with a European and an American species. Potential biological functions of these interesting fluorescence properties of the studied biomaterial are discussed. The discovery of this striking example of a fluorescent terrestrial biomaterial may contribute to the debate on adaptive biological functions of natural fluorescence and falls in line with the growing interest in biodiversity and bio-inspiration.

scholarly journals Individual recognition is associated with holistic face processing in Polistes paper wasps in a species-specific way

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1943) ◽  
pp. 20203010
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Tibbetts ◽  
Juanita Pardo-Sanchez ◽  
Julliana Ramirez-Matias ◽  
Aurore Avarguès-Weber
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Face Processing ◽  
Individual Recognition ◽  
Holistic Processing ◽  
Paper Wasp ◽  
Paper Wasps ◽  
Wasp Species ◽  
Face Images ◽  
Holistic Face Processing ◽  
Species Specific

Most recognition is based on identifying features, but specialization for face recognition in primates relies on a different mechanism, termed ‘holistic processing’ where facial features are bound together into a gestalt which is more than the sum of its parts. Here, we test whether individual face recognition in paper wasps also involved holistic processing using a modification of the classic part-whole test in two related paper wasp species: Polistes fuscatus , which use facial patterns to individually identify conspecifics, and Polistes dominula , which lacks individual recognition. We show that P. fuscatus use holistic processing to discriminate between P. fuscatus face images but not P. dominula face images. By contrast, P. dominula do not rely on holistic processing to discriminate between conspecific or heterospecific face images. Therefore, P. fuscatus wasps have evolved holistic face processing, but this ability is highly specific and shaped by species-specific and stimulus-specific selective pressures. Convergence towards holistic face processing in distant taxa (primates, wasps) as well as divergence among closely related taxa with different recognition behaviour ( P. dominula , P. fuscatus ) suggests that holistic processing may be a universal adaptive strategy to facilitate expertise in face recognition.

scholarly journals Social wasps repair emergent topological defects

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shivani Krishna ◽  
Apoorva Gopinath ◽  
Somendra M. Bhattacharjee
Keyword(s):  
Short Range ◽  
Amorphous Materials ◽  
Social Insect ◽  
Pair Correlation ◽  
Orientational Order ◽  
Topological Defects ◽  
Social Wasps ◽  
Paper Wasp ◽  
Wasp Species

Social insects have evolved a variety of architectural formations. Bees and wasps are well known for their ability to achieve compact structures by building hexagonal cells. Polistes wattii, an open nesting paper wasp species, builds planar hexagonal structures. Here, using the pair correlation function approach, we show that their nests exhibit short-range hexagonal order but no long-range order akin to amorphous materials. Hexagonal orientational order was well preserved globally. We also show the presence of emergent topological defects such as disclination pairs (pentagon-heptagon dipoles), Stone-Wales quadrupoles, and other higher-order defects and discuss how these defects were fixed in the nest, thereby restoring order. Furthermore, we suggest the possible role of such defects in shaping nesting architectures of other social insect species.

scholarly journals Expansion and accelerated evolution of 9-exon odorant receptors in Polistes paper wasps

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew W. Legan ◽  
Christopher M. Jernigan ◽  
Sara E. Miller ◽  
Matthieu F. Fuchs ◽  
Michael J. Sheehan
Keyword(s):  
Gene Family ◽  
Odorant Receptor ◽  
Receptor Gene ◽  
Gene Family Evolution ◽  
Paper Wasp ◽  
Wasp Species ◽  
Accelerated Evolution ◽  
Evolution Of Sociality ◽  
Or Gene ◽  
Or Genes

ABSTRACTIndependent origins of sociality in bees and ants are associated with independent expansions of particular odorant receptor (OR) gene subfamilies. In ants, one clade within the OR gene family, the 9-exon subfamily, has dramatically expanded. These receptors detect cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs), key social signaling molecules in insects. It is unclear to what extent 9-exon OR subfamily expansion is associated with the independent evolution of sociality across Hymenoptera, warranting studies of taxa with independently derived social behavior. Here we describe odorant receptor gene family evolution in the northern paper wasp, Polistes fuscatus, and compare it to four additional paper wasp species spanning ~40 million years of divergence. We find 200 functional OR genes in P. fuscatus matching predictions from neuroanatomy, and more than half of these are in the 9-exon subfamily. Lineage-specific expansions of 9-exon subfamily ORs are tandemly arrayed in Polistes genomes and exhibit a breakdown in microsynteny relative to tandem arrays in other OR subfamilies. There is evidence of episodic positive diversifying selection shaping ORs in expanded subfamilies, including 9-exon, E, H, and L, but 9-exon ORs do not stand out as selectively diversified among Polistes species. Accelerated evolution has resulted in lower amino acid similarity and high dN/dS among 9-exon ORs compared to other OR subfamilies. Patterns of OR evolution within Polistes are consistent with 9-exon OR function in CHC perception by combinatorial coding, with both selection and drift contributing to interspecies differences in copy number and sequence.

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