Biological Notes On Three Species of Giant Australian Mason Wasps, Abispa (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae)

Matthews, Robert W.; Matthews, Janice R.

doi:10.2317/e20.1

Cited by 6 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Most aspects of Abispa ephippium nest structure and basic biology agree with those reported elsewhere for A. ephippium [4] and A. australiana [3]. Thick-walled nests are highly dispersed and lifetime female fecundity appears to be low (<10) with a correspondingly low immature mortality rate.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

“…On the final day of provisioning (about 6 days after cell construction), she repeatedly returns with caterpillars, then abruptly stops. This pattern of provisioning is termed truncated progressive provisioning and appears to be characteristic of Abispa species [3].…”

Section: Nest Construction a Typical Abispa Nest Is Built In Stagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Knowledge of Abispa biology is sparse, limited to a few brief reports summarized elsewhere [3]. Although the wasps themselves are not uncommon in entomological collections, their nests are widely dispersed, well camouflaged, and often hidden in well-protected locations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nesting Behavior ofAbispa ephippium(Fabricius) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae): Extended Parental Care in an Australian Mason Wasp

Matthews

2009

Psyche: A Journal of Entomology

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The genusAbispaincludes Australia's largest wasps, potters with distinctive mud nests weighing up to 0.5 kg. During 31 days near Katherine, NT, Australia, we observed 8 activeA. ephippium(Fabricius) nests and dissected 16. Nesting is lengthy and asynchronous; female generations often overlap. Females display long-term parental care through truncated progressive provisioning, removing debris, repairing damage, and attacking potential invaders. Males patrol water-gathering spots, and visit and associate with active nests, mating there and in flight. Females actively guard nests, but challenged nest-attending males simply retreat. The distinctive funnel-shaped entrance helps females defend nests physically but probably not chemically; dismantled for cell closure material, it is built anew for each cell. Nests contain up to 8 cells; construction and provisioning total about 7 days per cell. The only parasite wasStilbum cyanurumForster. Thievery and nest usurpation byPseudabispa paragioides(Meade-Waldo) were discovered.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Section: Nest Construction a Typical Abispa Nest Is Built In Stagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nesting Behavior ofAbispa ephippium(Fabricius) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae): Extended Parental Care in an Australian Mason Wasp

Matthews

2009

Psyche: A Journal of Entomology

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“…Some degree of progressive provisioning may occur in Odynerus oahuensis (WILLIAMS 1927: 454); Ancistrocerus taihorinshoensis (= Parancistrocerus taihorinshoensis; GIORDANI SOIKA 1994) and Suhancistrocerus sichelii (IWATA 1976: 270); Euodynerus auranus (Cameron) (EVANS 1977); and Abispa meadewaldoensis (MATTHEWS & MATTHEWS 2004). In these species females have been observed provisioning an open cell containing a young larva and numerous prey, so these may be instances of either full progressive provisioning or of "delayed provisioning" (delayed mass (WILLIAMS 1928).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In both of these species, associated females passed the night ensconced facing outward in partially provisioned larva-containing cells (WILLIAMS 1928: 81-82). A collected nest of Abispa australiana contained two females and two larvae of similar ages suggesting that they were being provisioned simultaneously (MATTHEWS & MATTHEWS 2004). In addition, several females of Zethus laevinodus shared an entrance to a complex of cells in tunnels in wood, but each may have tended her own cluster of cells within (BOHART & STANCE 1965); similarly, two or three females of a Zethus species (near Z. westwoodi) shared the entrance to tunnels leading to ramifying galleries in the fruiting body of a basidiomycete fungus (FLOREZ 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavior of the primitively social wasp Montezumia cortesioides Willink (Vespidae Eumeninae) and the origins of vespid sociality

West‐Eberhard¹

2005

Ethology Ecology & Evolution

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Montezumia cortesioides is of special interest for studies of insect social evolution because it belongs to the primarily solitary-nesting subfamily (Eumeninae) of wasps that is most closely related to the subfamilies (Stenogastrinae, Polistinae, Vespinae) that contain eusocial species. It is one of a few eumenines that are primitively social, with more than one reproductive female on the same nest without a division of labor between sterile workers and egg-laying queens. Most of the 17 known progressively provisioning eumenines nest as solitary females, but there is an association between progressive provisioning and nest sharing: all of the three nest-sharing eumenines whose behavior has been observed progressively provision their larvae. Of those species, the behavior of M. cortesioides most closely resembles that of the eusocial (worker-containing) wasps, in nest-sharing, reuse of brood cells, progressive provisioning, and strong aggressive competition among resident females for empty cells. Observations suggest that groups are formed when offspring females remain on the maternal nest. A male repeatedly visited a nest and paired with a newly emerged female. Prey theft from the open cells of nestmates (intranidal prey theft) was associated with episodes of self-grooming and brief repetitive superficial inspections of prey-containing cells.

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Postural analysis reveals persistent changes in paper wasp foundress behavioral state after conspecific challenge

Legan,

Vogt,

Sheehan

2023

Ecology and Evolution

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Vigilant animals detect and respond to threats in the environment, often changing posture and movement patterns. Vigilance is modulated not only by predators but also by conspecific threats. In social animals, precisely how conspecific threats alter vigilance behavior over time is relevant to long‐standing hypotheses about social plasticity. We report persistent effects of a simulated conspecific challenge on behavior of wild northern paper wasp foundresses, Polistes fuscatus. During the founding phase of the colony cycle, conspecific wasps can usurp nests from the resident foundress, representing a severe threat. We used automated tracking to monitor the movement and posture of P. fuscatus foundresses in response to simulated intrusions. Wasps displayed increased movement, greater bilateral wing extension, and reduced antennal separation after the threat was removed. These changes were not observed after presentation with a wooden dowel. By rapidly adjusting individual behavior after fending off an intruder, paper wasp foundresses might invest in surveillance of potential threats, even when such threats are no longer immediately present. The prolonged vigilance‐like behavioral state observed here is relevant to plasticity of social recognition processes in paper wasps.

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Biological Notes On Three Species of Giant Australian Mason Wasps, Abispa (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae)

Cited by 6 publications

References 16 publications

Nesting Behavior ofAbispa ephippium(Fabricius) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae): Extended Parental Care in an Australian Mason Wasp

Nesting Behavior ofAbispa ephippium(Fabricius) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae): Extended Parental Care in an Australian Mason Wasp

Behavior of the primitively social wasp Montezumia cortesioides Willink (Vespidae Eumeninae) and the origins of vespid sociality

Postural analysis reveals persistent changes in paper wasp foundress behavioral state after conspecific challenge

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