Polymorphic Mimicry of Polistine Wasps by a Neotropical Neuropteran

Abstract

Climaciella brunnea is a polymorphic mantispid studied in Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. Five distinct color morphs were sampled, each being a presumed Batesian mimic of a different polistine wasp. The proportion of morphs varied between three separate localities and presumably reflected the differential abundance and aggressiveness of models at each site. Markrelease-recapture studies did not reveal any significant difference in mortality rates between morphs. Frequency-dependent selection via differential predation is probably responsible for the evolution of the polymorphism and would maintain different morph frequencies at different sites. Climaciella brunnea (Say) IS A PREDACEOUS MANTISPID which ranges northward through Central America, Mexico, and the western and central United States. Previous workers have noted that Climaciella individuals closely resemble polistine wasps (Smith 1934, Batra 1972). During studies conducted between 1971 and 1973 in Costa Rica, it was observed that C. brunnea populations were composed of individuals representing five distinct color morphs, each rather closely mimicking and presumably constituting a Batesian mimic of a different polistine wasp. The wasps involved were Polistes instabilis Sauss., P. canadensis (L.), P. carnifex (Fabr.), P. erythrocephalus Latr., and Synoeca sept entrionoalis Richards. This paper describes the mimetic relationships and reports on several experiments to test the existence of frequency-dependent selection which is presumed to maintain the polymorphism in these insects.