scholarly journals Origin and evolution of eusociality: a perspective from studying primitively eusocial wasps

1990 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raghavendra Gadagkar
Author(s):  
Cintia A. Oi ◽  
Ricardo C. Oliveira ◽  
Jelle S. van Zweden ◽  
Sidnei Mateus ◽  
Jocelyn G. Millar ◽  
...  

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 634-637 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anindita Bhadra ◽  
Raghavendra Gadagkar

Unlike other primitively eusocial wasps, Ropalidia marginata colonies are usually headed by remarkably docile and behaviourally non-dominant queens who are nevertheless completely successful in maintaining reproductive monopoly. As in other species, loss of the queen results in one of the workers taking over as the next queen. But unlike in other species, here, the queen's successor cannot be predicted on the basis of dominance rank, other behaviours, age, body size or even ovarian development, in the presence of the former queen. But the swiftness with which one and only one individual becomes evident as the potential queen led us to suspect that there might be a designated successor to the queen known to the wasps, even though we cannot identify her in the queen's presence. Here, we present the results of experiments that support such a ‘cryptic successor’ hypothesis, and thereby lend credence to the idea that queen (and potential queen) pheromones act as honest signals of their fertility, in R. marginata .


2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (4) ◽  
pp. 756-761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anindita Brahma ◽  
Souvik Mandal ◽  
Raghavendra Gadagkar

In most primitively eusocial wasps new nests are initiated by a single female or by small groups of females. To study the emergence of division of labor (DOL) among the nest foundresses and to determine its possible effect on nest productivity we maintained newly eclosed females ofRopalidia marginatain small boxes with one, two, or three nestmate wasps of the same age per box. Only one wasp developed her ovaries and laid eggs in each box, while the other wasp(s) built the nest, brought food, and fed larvae, demonstrating the spontaneous emergence of reproductive DOL in the presence of more than one wasp. In nests with three wasps there was also a strong negative correlation between intranidal and extranidal work performed by the two nonreproductive workers, suggesting the spontaneous emergence of nonreproductive DOL; such nonreproductive DOL was absent in nests with two wasps. Both reproductive and nonreproductive DOL were modulated by dominance behavior (DB). In nests with two wasps the egg layer showed significantly more DB than the non-egg layer before nest initiation; in nests with three wasps queens showed significantly more DB than intranidal workers, which in turn showed significantly more DB than extranidal workers. Productivities of nests (as measured by total brood on the day of eclosion of the first adult) initiated by one or two wasps were not different from each other but were significantly lower than that of three wasps. Thus, nonreproductive DOL, and not merely reproductive DOL, is necessary for increase in productivity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 130 (3) ◽  
pp. 545-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
André Rodrigues de Souza ◽  
Camila Folly Baptista ◽  
Eduardo Fernando Santos ◽  
Rafael Carvalho da Silva ◽  
Amanda da Silva Prato ◽  
...  

Abstract Nests of independent-founding primitively eusocial paper wasps are founded by one or a few females. Before worker emergence, foundresses must forage, sometimes leaving the nest unattended. Chemical defence - the application of ant repellent secretions of the Van der Vecht organ (VdVO) on the nest surface - allows brood protection when active defence is weak or not possible. After worker emergence, it is more likely that some wasps stay in the nest, so active nest defence may be more common. Given this constraint on the nest defence, selection for increasing the cuticular secretory area of the VdVO, to improve chemical defence, may be stronger in foundresses (queens) than in workers - morphological castes are hypothesized to evolve. We investigated the occurrence of morphological castes in the Neotropical paper wasp Mischocyttarus. Confirming our prediction, we found that in some (but not all) species, foundresses have a distinct increase in the secretory area of the VdVO in relation to workers; even though there is a strong overlap between caste phenotypes (incipient morphological castes). Implications of these findings for the evolution of morphological castes in primitively eusocial wasps are discussed.


Nature ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 342 (6247) ◽  
pp. 268-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan E. Strassmann ◽  
Colin R. Hughes ◽  
David C. Queller ◽  
Stefano Turillazzi ◽  
Rita Cervo ◽  
...  

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