The Adaptiveness of Social Wasp Nest Architecture

Jeanne, Robert L.

doi:10.1086/408564

Cited by 239 publications

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“…The survival of social wasp species depends on their success in founding new colonies (DEJEAN et al, 1998;HUNT, 2007;JEANNE, 1975). The selection of nesting places, along with nest architecture, was developed under the influence of at least two types of selection pressure: climatic conditions and predation by ants and vertebrates (JEANNE, 1970(JEANNE, , 1975CORBARA et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The selection of nesting places, along with nest architecture, was developed under the influence of at least two types of selection pressure: climatic conditions and predation by ants and vertebrates (JEANNE, 1970(JEANNE, , 1975CORBARA et al, 2009). To avoid those situations, the choice of nesting place in specific plant species depends on certain morphological or physiological characteristics (JEANNE, 1991;CORBARA et al, 2009), which provide the nest substrate (CORBARA et al, 2009), glucose resources (PEREIRA; SANTOS et al, , 2010SOUZA et al, 2010) hunting area and material for nest construction (ANDENA et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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<b>Nesting of social wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in a riparianforestofriodas Mortes in southeasternBrazil

Souza

Pires

Elpino-Campos

et al. 2014

Acta Sci. Biol. Sci.

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ABSTRACT. The survival of social wasp species depends on the success in founding new nests. These species can use plant species with different specific characteristics for nesting, with nest architecture varying according to the habits of those plant species. The nesting of social wasps in natural environments was studied in the period from October 2005 to September 2007 in the rio das Mortes riparian forest, municipal district of Barroso, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, with the objective of evaluating the different types of plant substrate used by social wasps for nesting, and to investigate whether there is a relationship between nest construction type and the habits of plant species. A total of 171 colonies of social wasps belonging to 29 species were recorded, which used 78 plant species as nesting substrate (76 Angiosperms and two Pteridophytes) of arbustive, herbaceous, arboreal, epiphyte and liana habits. Species with phragmocyttarus and gymnodomous nests were observed nesting, with higher incidence, in arboreal plants and their deciduousness did not affect the nesting. The preservation of natural areas is suggested in order to guarantee a higher availability of nesting places for the social wasp species, ensuring their higher efficiency in the environmental services and biological control of agricultural pests.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

<b>Nesting of social wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in a riparianforestofriodas Mortes in southeasternBrazil

Souza

Pires

Elpino-Campos

et al. 2014

Acta Sci. Biol. Sci.

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“…However, a larger colony is said to furnish the advantage of a high of survivorship of its occupants. Tn particular, larger colonies may suffer fewer attacks and be able to re-establish themselves more quickly than smaller ones (JEANNE 1975(JEANNE ,1980. The hunting areas of the 13 species overlapped partially or totally.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population densities and biomass of Neotropical social wasps (Hymenoptera, Vespidae) related to colony size, hunting range and wasp size

Raw

1998

Rev. Bras. Zool.

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ABSTRACT. At a locality near Brasilia the sizes of hunting areas and of colonies of 13 species of social wasps varied greatly. Size of the hunting area varied 152 fold and was strongly related to the number of adult wasps per colony which varied 400 fold. The total number of adults of the 13 species was estimated at 182.9/ ha (range 7.1 fold among the species) and their total biomass was 1.6 kg! ha (range 3.6 fold). Hunting range was not significantly related to body size. Variation in wing area (11.3 fold) was similar to that ofthe fi'esh weight ofthe adult female (1 0.7 fold). Eleven species showed habitat preferences where they hunted. Models relating prey size to the distance prey are carried are discussed.

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“…Each envelope serves as the substrate for the cells of a next comb. The nest architecture is called phragmocyttarous (Richards & Richards 1951, Jeanne 1975. Recently, it was reported that P. occidentalis (Jeanne & Bouwma 2004) builds empty combs at the outer part of the nest and the wasps rear the brood at the inner part.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Promotion of thermoregulatory insulation in nests of neotropical wasps by building extra-combs with empty cells

Hozumi¹,

Kudô²,

Zucchi³

2008

Neotrop. entomol.

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Neotropical Entomology 37(2): 159-166 (2008) Promoção de Isolamento Térmico em Ninhos de Vespas Neotropicais pela Construção de Favos com Células Vazias RESUMO -Examinou-se a hipótese de que os favos vazios dos ninhos de Polybia occidentalis Olivier (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) atuam como isolamento térmico dos elementos internos da colônia. Para avaliar essa hipótese dois tipos de medidas de temperatura foram tomadas: 1) com o favo externo intacto (Controle) e 2) removido (Tratamento), usando um ninho grande e um ninho menor. As temperaturas diárias no ninho grande (parte externa T n1 ; parte interna T n2 ), no Controle, foram 0,6°C (T n1 ) e 1,2°C (T n2 ) mais baixas que aquelas do Tratamento, devido à temperatura ambiente (T a ) mais alta durante todo o período avaliado. Entretanto, a temperatura excedente (T n -T a ) no Controle foi mais alta que no Tratamento. O valor foi 0,7°C mais alto em T n1 e 0,1°C em T n2 . No ninho menor, a temperatura excedente na parte externa foi semelhante entre os experimentos, e na parte interna a temperatura do Controle foi inferior à do Tratamento. A fl utuação térmica nos ninhos foi menor no Controle que no Tratamento, tanto na parte externa quanto interna dos favos. Conclui-se que o favo sem uso é ecologicamente muito importante para criar ou proteger a cria das alterações extremas de temperatura ambiente no inverno, uma vez que ele auxilia na manutenção de temperatura alta no ninho e também no decréscimo da fl utuação de temperatura ao redor dos favos de cria. Além disso, essas temperaturas mais altas infl uenciam as atividades dos adultos. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Polistinae, Polybia occidentalis, termoregulação, invernoABSTRACT -We examined the hypotheses that the empty combs of Polybia occidentalis Olivier (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) nest insulate the inside of the nest. To examine this hypotheses, two kinds of temperature measurements were carried out: 1) with the outer comb of the nest intact (Control) and 2) removed (Treatment), using a large and a small nest. In the large nest, the daily nest temperatures (outer part, T n1 ; inner part, T n2 ) in Control were lower by 0.6°C (T n1 ) and 1.2°C (T n2 ) than those in Treatment, because of a higher ambient temperature (T a ) throughout temperature assessment in Treatment. However, the excess temperature (T n T a ) in Control was higher than that in Treatment. The value was higher by 0.7°C at T n1 and 0.1°C at T n2 . In the small nest, the excess temperature in outer part was similar between experiments, while that in inner part of Control was lower than that of Treatment. The temperature fl uctuation in the nests was lower in the Control than that in Treatment both the outer and inner part of the comb. We conclude that the unused comb is ecologically invaluable for raising and protecting the brood from extreme changes in ambient temperature during the winter period, because it helps not only keeping a higher nest temperature but also decreasing the temperature fl uctuation around the brood combs. In addition, such a high temperature ma...

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The Adaptiveness of Social Wasp Nest Architecture

Cited by 239 publications

References 9 publications

<b>Nesting of social wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in a riparianforestofriodas Mortes in southeasternBrazil

<b>Nesting of social wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in a riparianforestofriodas Mortes in southeasternBrazil

Population densities and biomass of Neotropical social wasps (Hymenoptera, Vespidae) related to colony size, hunting range and wasp size

Promotion of thermoregulatory insulation in nests of neotropical wasps by building extra-combs with empty cells

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