Morphological adaptations to silk production by adult females in the pollen wasp genus Quartinia (Masarinae, Vespidae) – a keystone character for ground nesting in dry sand habitats

Zimmermann, Dominique; Randolf, Susanne; Mauss, Volker

doi:10.1016/j.asd.2021.101045

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 39 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Mandibles are often wedge-shaped shaped and tooth number is variable in Chrysidoidea (e.g., Boudinot et al 2022c), but the falcate, bidentate to many-dentate shape is also found, e.g., in Bethylidae (Alencar andAzevedo 2013, Lanes et al 2020). Although a mandible with a broad base and simple triangular to rectangular shape occurs in many genera of Vespidae (e.g., Parischnogaster in our sample, Polistinae: Silveira and Santos 2011, Vespula: Duncan 1939), the falcate bidentate form is found in the subfamily Masarinae (Zimmermann et al 2021). Falcate mandibles with or without a subapical tooth also occur in pompiloid subfamilies such as Thynnidae (Methocha from our sample), Tiphiidae, and Mutillidae.…”

Section: Evolution Of the Ant Mandiblementioning

confidence: 63%

“…We found only a minute swelling in the outgroups Parischnogaster and Methocha, and a broad bulge on the lateral mandibular region in Ampulex and Sceliphron. A process is also present in Masarinae (Zimmermann et al 2021) and Vespinae (Duncan 1939) but is apparently generally small in these taxa; it is developed as a broad, transverse column in Scoliidae (Osten 1982, Boudinot et al 2022c). Additionally, protuberances or convexities on this mandibular region are highly variable across Apoidea (Bohart andMenke 1976, Michener andFraser 1978).…”

Section: Crown Formicidaementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The First Reconstruction of the Head Anatomy of a Cretaceous Insect, †Gerontoformica gracilis(Hymenoptera: Formicidae), and the Early Evolution of Ants

Richter

Boudinot

Yamamoto

et al. 2022

Insect Systematics and Diversity

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The fossil record allows a unique glimpse into the evolutionary history of organisms living on Earth today. We discovered a specimen of the stem group ant †Gerontoformica gracilis (Barden and Grimaldi, 2014) in Kachin amber with near-complete preservation of internal head structures, which we document employing µ-computed-tomography-based 3D reconstructions. We compare †Gerontoformica to four outgroup taxa and four extant ant species, employing parsimony and Bayesian ancestral state reconstruction to identify morphological differences and similarities between stem and crown ants and thus improve our understanding of ant evolution through the lens of head anatomy. Of 149 morphological characters, 87 are new in this study, and almost all applicable to the fossil. †Gerontoformica gracilis shares shortened dorsal tentorial arms, basally angled pedicels, and the pharyngeal gland as apomorphies with other total clade Formicidae. Retained plesiomorphies include mandible shape and features of the prepharynx. Implications of the reconstructed transitions especially for the ant groundplan are critically discussed based on our restricted taxon sampling, emphasizing the crucial information derived from internal anatomy which is applied to deep time for the first time. Based on the falcate mandible in †Gerontoformica and other Aculeata, we present hypotheses for how the shovel-shaped mandibles in crown Formicidae could have evolved. Our results support the notion of †Gerontoformica as ‘generalized’ above-ground predator missing crucial novelties of crown ants which may have helped the latter survive the end-Cretaceous extinction. Our study is an important step for anatomical research on Cretaceous insects and a glimpse into the early evolution of ant heads.

show abstract

Section: Evolution Of the Ant Mandiblementioning

confidence: 63%

Section: Crown Formicidaementioning

confidence: 99%

The First Reconstruction of the Head Anatomy of a Cretaceous Insect, †Gerontoformica gracilis(Hymenoptera: Formicidae), and the Early Evolution of Ants

Richter

Boudinot

Yamamoto

et al. 2022

Insect Systematics and Diversity

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This first filtration step is especially important when rasping fruit flesh or sucking the haemolymph of captured prey, as bigger particles are easily present during feeding from these food sources that could disrupt the fluid uptake [5][6][7]9,10]. Structures that are similar to the galeal comb to avoid or control the intake of bigger particles are not only found in Vespinae, but also in other Vespidae, e.g., the highly specialized Masarinae and can probably found in many Apocrita [38].…”

Section: First Filtration Stepmentioning

confidence: 99%

Filtration of Nutritional Fluids in the German Wasp Vespula germanica (Vespidae, Hymenoptera)

Kuba

Krenn

2022

Insects

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The mouthparts of Vespidae have evolved to forage various solid and liquid foods, such as animal prey, carbohydrate-rich fluids, as well as woody fibres for nest construction. Before nutritional fluids are ingested into the crop, bigger particles need to be filtered out. This study examined the functional morphology of the mouthparts, the preoral cavity, and the proximal alimentary tract inside the head focusing on this filtration process. The feeding organs and preoral cavity were studied using µCT and SEM that were complimented by feeding experiments with glass beads in workers of Vespula germanica. To visualize fluid ingestion into the head and alimentary tract, barium sulfate solution was used as contrast agent; a method that is rarely applied in entomology. Experimental results indicate that large glass beads (>212 µm) were filtered by the mouthpart structures before entering the preoral cavity. Smaller glass beads (152–212 µm) were found inside the infrabuccal pocket in front of the mouth. Morphological evidence indicates that cuticle structures of the epipharynx, hypopharynx, and cibarium filter this particle size inside the preoral cavity while glass beads < 152 µm reach the crop. A double fluid filtration system is proposed that is formed by (1) bristles of the mouthparts and (2) microtrichia of the preoral cavity.

show abstract

Auf Sand gebaut

Tetsch¹

2022

Chemie in nserer Zeit

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Morphological adaptations to silk production by adult females in the pollen wasp genus Quartinia (Masarinae, Vespidae) – a keystone character for ground nesting in dry sand habitats

Cited by 3 publications

References 39 publications

The First Reconstruction of the Head Anatomy of a Cretaceous Insect, †Gerontoformica gracilis(Hymenoptera: Formicidae), and the Early Evolution of Ants

The First Reconstruction of the Head Anatomy of a Cretaceous Insect, †Gerontoformica gracilis(Hymenoptera: Formicidae), and the Early Evolution of Ants

Filtration of Nutritional Fluids in the German Wasp Vespula germanica (Vespidae, Hymenoptera)

Auf Sand gebaut

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About