Evolution Of Wasps Research Articles

Phylogenomic Evidence Overturns Current Conceptions of Social Evolution in Wasps (Vespidae).

The hypothesis that eusociality originated once in Vespidae has shaped interpretation of social evolution for decades and has driven the supposition that preimaginal morphophysiological differences between castes were absent at the outset of eusociality. Many researchers also consider casteless nest-sharing an antecedent to eusociality. Together, these ideas endorse a stepwise progression of social evolution in wasps (solitary → casteless nest-sharing → eusociality with rudimentary behavioral castes → eusociality with preimaginal caste-biasing (PCB) → morphologically differentiated castes). Here, we infer the phylogeny of Vespidae using sequence data generated via anchored hybrid enrichment from 378 loci across 136 vespid species and perform ancestral state reconstructions to test whether rudimentary and monomorphic castes characterized the initial stages of eusocial evolution. Our results reject the single origin of eusociality hypothesis, contest the supposition that eusociality emerged from a casteless nest-sharing ancestor, and suggest that eusociality in Polistinae + Vespinae began with castes having morphological differences. An abrupt appearance of castes with ontogenetically established morphophysiological differences conflicts with the current conception of stepwise social evolution and suggests that the climb up the ladder of sociality does not occur through sequential mutation. Phenotypic plasticity and standing genetic variation could explain how cooperative brood care evolved in concert with nest-sharing and how morphologically dissimilar castes arose without a rudimentary intermediate. Furthermore, PCB at the outset of eusociality implicates a subsocial route to eusociality in Polistinae + Vespinae, emphasizing the role of mother–daughter interactions and subfertility (i.e. the cost component of kin selection) in the origin of workers.

Sociality and the rate of rDNA sequence evolution in wasps (Vespidae) and honeybees (Apis).

Sequence data of mitochondrial 16S ribosomal DNA (mt-rDNA) and nuclear 28S ribosomal DNA (nuc-rDNA) were compared in two honeybee species (Apis mellifera and Apis dorsata) and a selection of 22 wasp species (Vespidae) with different levels of sociality. The averge substitution rates in mt-rDNA and nuc-rDNA were almost-equal in solitary species. In species with larger nests, however, the difference between the nuclear and the mitochondrial substitution rate significantly increased. The average substitution ratio, psi (nucleotide substitutions in mt-rDNA/nucleotide substitutions in nuc-rDNA) was 1.48 +/- 0.12 (SE) among the solitary Eumeninae, 3.70 +/- 0.15 among five primitive social Stenogastrinae species, 3.24 +/- 0.20 among five Polistinae species, 5.76 +/- 0.33 among nine highly eusocial Vespinae, and 12.7 in the two Apis species. The high egg-laying rate and the effective population size skew between the sexes may contribute to the rise of the substitution ratio in the highly eusocial species. Drift and bottleneck effects in the mitochondrial DNA pool during speciation events as well as polyandry may further enhance this phenomenon.

Behaviour and Social Evolution of Wasps. The Communal Aggregation Hypothesis

Behaviour and Social Evolution of Wasps. The Communal Aggregation Hypothesis

Behaviour and social evolution of wasps: the communal aggregation hypothesis

Behaviour and social evolution of wasps: the communal aggregation hypothesis