Evolutionary genetics of social wasps (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Vespula)

Abstract

Genetic relationships of eight northern European yellowjacket species, representingVespula s. str. (therufa group),Paravespula thevulgaris group) andDolichovespula, are here studied by enzyme electrophoresis. The observed level of intraspecific genic variation is relatively low, and the southern Finnish populations show no clear-cut geographic differences. The allozyme characters are further used to construct phylogenetic trees by four tree-building techniques. It is suggested thatDolichovespula media is not phylogenetically closely related to other EuropeanDolichovespula species, and thatParavespula andVespula s. str. may not form a single monophyletic group. Two of the species studied,V. austriaca andD. omissa, are obligatory social parasites. In both cases the parasite is related to its host. This supports the hypothesis that the social parasite generally arises from the same ancestral stock as the host species.