Close-range cues used by males of Polistes dominula in sex discrimination

Silva, Rafael Carvalho da; Meerbeeck, Lize Van; Nascimento, Fábio Santos do; Wenseleers, Tom; Oi, Cintia Akemi

doi:10.1007/s00114-021-01730-4

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…The whiskers show the 5th and 95th percentiles. (Cappa et al, 2013;de Souza et al, 2017;da Silva et al, 2021). Therefore, larger optic lobes may facilitate detection and discrimination between potential mates or male intruders in their defended territories (Beani et al, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Caste, Sex, and Parasitism Influence Brain Plasticity in a Social Wasp

et al. 2022

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Brain plasticity is widespread in nature, as it enables adaptive responses to sensory demands associated with novel stimuli, environmental changes and social conditions. Social Hymenoptera are particularly well-suited to study neuroplasticity, because the division of labor amongst females and the different life histories of males and females are associated with specific sensory needs. Here, we take advantage of the social wasp Polistes dominula to explore if brain plasticity is influenced by caste and sex, and the exploitation by the strepsipteran parasite Xenos vesparum. Within sexes, male wasps had proportionally larger optic lobes, while females had larger antennal lobes, which is consistent with the sensory needs of sex-specific life histories. Within castes, reproductive females had larger mushroom body calyces, as predicted by their sensory needs for extensive within-colony interactions and winter aggregations, than workers who frequently forage for nest material and prey. Parasites had different effects on female and male hosts. Contrary to our predictions, female workers were castrated and behaviorally manipulated by female or male parasites, but only showed moderate differences in brain tissue allocation compared to non-parasitized workers. Parasitized males maintained their reproductive apparatus and sexual behavior. However, they had smaller brains and larger sensory brain regions than non-parasitized males. Our findings confirm that caste and sex mediate brain plasticity in P. dominula, and that parasitic manipulation drives differential allocation of brain regions depending on host sex.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Caste, Sex, and Parasitism Influence Brain Plasticity in a Social Wasp

et al. 2022

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“…some compounds were sex specific) and quantitatively (e.g. a compound were relatively more common in one of the sexes), as in most species in which sex differences have been investigated ( Polistes : Beani et al 2019 ; da Silva et al 2021a ; Vespula : da Silva et al 2021b ; Ropalidia : Mitra et al 2015 ). Again, at least in P. dominula , CHCs profile has been experimentally confirmed as a sex recognition cue ( da Silva et al 2021a ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…a compound were relatively more common in one of the sexes), as in most species in which sex differences have been investigated ( Polistes : Beani et al 2019 ; da Silva et al 2021a ; Vespula : da Silva et al 2021b ; Ropalidia : Mitra et al 2015 ). Again, at least in P. dominula , CHCs profile has been experimentally confirmed as a sex recognition cue ( da Silva et al 2021a ). Therefore, our study on Myschocyttarus adds to this body of evidence suggesting that sexually dimorphic visual and chemical traits (and maybe sex recognition) might be widespread across social wasp taxa.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sex differences in odor and visual appearance have been previously documented in different social wasps. Specifically, the antennal morphology ( Romani et al 2005 ), the facial coloration ( Chavarria-Pizaro and West-Eberhard 2010 ; de Souza et al 2014 , 2017a ; Cappa et al 2016 ) and the cuticular chemical profile ( Beani et al 2019 ; da Silva et al 2021a , 2021b ) are potential cues of sex. Surprisingly, experimental tests on sex discrimination are rare and restricted to Polistes (e.g.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Sex recognition does not modulate aggression toward nest intruders in a paper wasp

et al. 2022

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During social interactions, the behavior of an individual often depends on the sex of its social partner. Many animal societies have males and females that play very different behavioral roles, although they coexist and interact non-sexually. At specific phases of the colony cycle, social wasp females and males are contemporaries within a nest, they often interact, although mating occurs mostly off the nest, therefore providing an opportunity to test sex discrimination in contexts other than classical sexual ones. We performed a lure presentation experiment to test if Mischocyttarus metathoracicus discriminate between conspecifics of the two sexes during on-nest social interactions. Female wasps discriminated conspecific sex during experimentally simulated nest intrusions. Visual and chemical cues may account for this sex discrimination. Despite sex discrimination (evidenced by differential inspective behavior from the nest females toward the female and the male lures), female wasps were as aggressive toward lures of both sexes. In the female dominated hymenopteran societies, males are often subordinate and not aggressive on nest, resulting in females directing less aggression to them compared to other females. Instead, M. metathoracicus males and females are both aggressive toward nestmates, so they might be perceived as similar threat during on-nest social interactions.

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“…P. fuscatus males are attracted to contents of the female venom gland of both P. fuscatus and P. exclamans and rely on cuticular chemicals of the female in mate compatibility recognition (Post and Jeanne 1984). Sexually dimorphic cuticular hydrocarbon profiles may be used in mate choice by Polistes males and females (Espelie and Hermann 1990;Layton et al 1994;Beani et al 2019;da Silva et al 2021). Odorant receptors influencing mate choice may contribute to behavioral reproductive isolation, potentially influencing speciation (Brand et al 2015(Brand et al , 2020Xu and Shaw 2019).…”

Section: Sexual Dimorphism In Odorant Receptor Gene Transcriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lineage-specific patterns of sexually dimorphic antennal transcription in the paper waspPolistes fuscatus

Legan,

Sheehan

2024

Preprint

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Olfaction mediates many behaviors in social Hymenoptera, with sexual dimorphism in antennal transcription associated with different behaviors between sexes. Females display coordinated social behaviors within colonies, while males exhibit limited social behavior but are selected for finding mates. The expanded "9-exon" odorant receptor (OR) gene subfamily is associated with chemical communication and exhibits strongly female biased antennal transcription in ants and honey bees. Polistine wasps represent an independent evolution of sociality and associated expansion of 9-exon ORs, though antennal expression patterns are unknown. Here, we report distinct patterns of sexually dimorphic OR transcription inPolistes fuscatuscompared to ants and bees. MostP. fuscatus9-exon transcripts were detected at similar levels in males and females, and some were male biased. We also report differential antennal transcription of cytochromes P450 and muscle-related genes between sexes. We discuss these patterns in the context of the unique sexual and social behaviors ofPolisteswasps, including prolonged male mating aggregations and male antennal tapping and curling during courtship and copulation. These results call attention to the lineage-specific selective pressures shaping sexually dimorphic antennal transcription in social insects.

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Close-range cues used by males of Polistes dominula in sex discrimination

Cited by 5 publications

References 55 publications

Caste, Sex, and Parasitism Influence Brain Plasticity in a Social Wasp

Caste, Sex, and Parasitism Influence Brain Plasticity in a Social Wasp

Sex recognition does not modulate aggression toward nest intruders in a paper wasp

Lineage-specific patterns of sexually dimorphic antennal transcription in the paper waspPolistes fuscatus

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