Abstract
The invasive yellow-legged hornet Vespa velutina nigrithorax was accidentally introduced in Europe in the early 2000s. As is the case in colonies of other wasp and hornet species, V. velutina colonies are known to produce sexuals (males and new queens) at the end of the summer. We show that early-stage colonies in French populations frequently produce males well before the usual reproductive period. The vast majority of the males produced are diploid, which is consistent with the loss of genetic diversity previously reported in introduced populations in France. Since males do not participate in colony activities, the production of early diploid males at the expense of workers is expected to hamper colony growth and, ultimately, decrease the expansion of the species in its invasive range in Europe.
Highlights
IntroductionAccepted: August 6, 2015In haplodiploid hymenopteran species, sex is typically determined by one polyallelic locus (single-locus complementary sex determination, or sl-CSD) [1,2,3,4]
Accepted: August 6, 2015In haplodiploid hymenopteran species, sex is typically determined by one polyallelic locus [1,2,3,4]
This study shows that colonies of the invasive yellow-legged hornet Vespa velutina nigrithorax in France (1) produce males throughout the species’ active season, even well before the reproductive period, and (2) that most of these males are diploid
Summary
Accepted: August 6, 2015In haplodiploid hymenopteran species, sex is typically determined by one polyallelic locus (single-locus complementary sex determination, or sl-CSD) [1,2,3,4]. Diploid male production (DMP) results in direct fitness costs to parents [4,5,6,7]. In a number of species, diploid males experience sterility or reduced survival to adulthood [8]. DMP represents an additional cost because males are produced at the expense of female workers but do not contribute to colony productivity [11, 12]. This phenomenon has been shown to reduce colony growth in bumble bees [13] and to increase mortality during colony founding in ants [11]. Recent theoretical studies have suggested that DMP can increase the risk of population extinction [14]
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