Cuticular Hydrocarbon Studies in Neotropical Social Wasps

Division of labor is one of the most striking features in the evolution of eusociality. Juvenile hormone (JH) mediates reproductive status and aggression among nestmates in primitively eusocial Hymenoptera (species without morphologically distinct castes). In highly social species it has apparently lost its gonadotropic role and primarily regulates the division of labor in the worker caste. Polybia occidentalis, a Neotropical swarm-founding wasp, is an ideal model to understand how JH levels mirror social context and reproductive opportunities because of the absence of a clear morphological caste dimorphism. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that JH influences division of labor, ovary activation and cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of workers. Our observations confirmed that JH analog (methoprene) and precocene affected the cuticular chemical profile associated with the age polyethism. Also, methoprene and precocene-I influenced differently ovarian activation of treated females (individuals treated with methoprene expressed more activated ovaries while precocene treatment did not have significant effect). These results suggest that different hormonal levels induce a differential expression in the cuticular chemical profiles associated with the workers’ age polyethism, which may be essential for keeping the social cohesion among workers throughout their lives in the colony. Furthermore, JH is likely to play a gonadotropic role in P. occidentalis. JH has apparently undergone certain modifications in social Hymenoptera, presenting multifaceted functions in different species.

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Cuticular hydrocarbons as caste-linked cues in Neotropical swarm-founding wasps

Silva

Prato

Tannure-Nascimento

et al. 2022

PeerJ

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Wasps (Vespidae) are important organisms to understand the evolution of social behaviour. Wasps show different levels of sociality, which includes solitary to highly eusocial organisms. In social insect species, queens and workers differ in physiology and morphology. The Neotropical swarm-founding wasps (Epiponini) show a variety of caste syndromes. In this clade, the caste-flexibility is a unique characteristic, in which workers can become queens and swarm to start a new nest. The investigation of the caste system comparing several Epiponini species show a clear-cut morphological distinction between queens and workers, with a morphological continuum between queens and workers. However, whether cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) are used as cues for caste recognition in swarm-founding wasps is still unknown. We studied whether CHCs may display caste-linked differences in eleven species of Epiponini wasps and if CHCs differences would follow morphological patterns. Our results suggest that queens and workers of Epiponini wasps are chemically different from each other at two levels, qualitatively and quantitatively, or merely quantitatively. This variation seems to exist regardless of their morphological traits and may be useful to help us understanding how chemical communication evolved differently in these species.

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Cuticular Hydrocarbon Studies in Neotropical Social Wasps

Cited by 3 publications

References 62 publications

Colonial chemical signature of social wasps and their nesting substrates

Colonial chemical signature of social wasps and their nesting substrates

Juvenile hormone affects age polyethism, ovarian status and cuticular hydrocarbon profile in workers of the waspPolybia occidentalis

Cuticular hydrocarbons as caste-linked cues in Neotropical swarm-founding wasps

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