Polistes Exclamans Research Articles

Seasonal dynamics of arthropods in Lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) and nutritional link to rodent foraging

Lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) is a highly nutritive crop with more vitamins and minerals used as a fodder legume since it is available throughout the year. In the Coimbatore district farmers prefer lucerne as a fodder crop because of its quality, year-round production, and seed yield fetches a high price. The monitoring study on lucerne crop pests, natural enemies and pollinators was conducted at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore for three seasons from October 2021 to June 2024. The major sucking pests observed in Lucerne were aphids (Aphis craccivora Koch) and stink bugs (Nezara virudula, (L.)) and the natural enemy observed was coccinellid predators (Cheilomenes sexmaculata (Fabricius)). Natural enemies such as the Ladybird beetle (Coccinella repanda Thunberg) and Paper wasp (Polistes exclamans Vierick) were also documented as crucial in regulating these pest populations. The study also observed a diverse range of pollinators including the Alfalfa Leafcutter bee (Megachile rotundata (Fabricius)), various butterflies, and several species of bees that are vital for effective pollination and enhanced crop quality. The population of aphids and stink bugs ranged from 0.00 to 1.47 and from 0.00 to 1.35, respectively, from April to May. In contrast, from November to February, the aphid population varied from 0.07 to 0.45, while the stink bug population ranged from 0.02 to 0.38. The maximum population of coccinellids was recorded at 3.16 in October 2023. The correlation of pest and predator population with weather parameters showed maximum and minimum temperatures favoured the population development while it was negatively correlated with relative humidity and rainfall. Profiling of root nutrients showed lucerne roots contain a significant amount of essential nutrients that meet the dietary requirements of mice.

Highly Contiguous Genome Assemblies of the Guinea Paper Wasp (Polistes exclamans) and Mischocyttarus mexicanus.

Paper wasps are a model system for the study of social evolution due to a high degree of inter- and intraspecific variation in cooperation, aggression, and visual signals of social status. Increasing the taxonomic coverage of genomic resources for this diverse clade will aid comparative genomic approaches for testing predictions about the molecular basis of social evolution. Here, we provide draft genome assemblies for two well-studied species of paper wasps, Polistes exclamans and Mischocyttarus mexicanus. The P. exclamans genome assembly is 221.5 Mb in length with a scaffold N50 of 4.11 Mb. The M. mexicanus genome assembly is 227 Mb in length with a scaffold N50 of 1.1 Mb. Genomes have low repeat content (9.54–10.75%) and low GC content (32.06–32.4%), typical of other social hymenopteran genomes. The DNA methyltransferase gene, Dnmt3 , was lost early in the evolution of Polistinae. We identified a second independent loss of Dnmt3 within hornets (genus: Vespa).

Conspecific and interspecific stimuli reduce initial performance in an aversive learning task in honey bees (Apis mellifera).

The purpose of this experiment was to investigate whether honey bees (Apis mellifera) are able to use social discriminative stimuli in a spatial aversive conditioning paradigm. We tested bees' ability to avoid shock in a shuttle box apparatus across multiple groups when either shock, or the absence of shock, was associated with a live hive mate, a dead hive mate, a live Polistes exclamans wasp or a dead wasp. Additionally, we used several control groups common to bee shuttle box research where shock was only associated with spatial cues, or where shock was associated with a blue or yellow color. While bees were able to learn the aversive task in a simple spatial discrimination, the presence of any other stimuli (color, another bee, or a wasp) reduced initial performance. While the color biases we discovered are in line with other experiments, the finding that the presence of another animal reduces performance is novel. Generally, it appears that the use of bees or wasps as stimuli initially causes an increase in overall activity that interferes with early performance in the spatial task. During the course of the experiment, the bees habituate to the insect stimuli (bee or wasp), and begin learning the aversive task. Additionally, we found that experimental subject bees did not discriminate between bees or wasps used as stimulus animals, nor did they discriminate between live or dead stimulus animals. This may occur, in part, due to the specialized nature of the worker honey bee. Results are discussed with implications for continual research on honey bees as models of aversive learning, as well as research on insect social learning in general.

Laboratory Demonstrations of Pheromone-Mediated Scent-Marking, Orientation, and Mounting Behavior in Polistes exclamans (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

A combination of arena,Y-tube olfactometer, and flight tunnel assays were used to determine responses of male and reproductive female Polistes exclamans Vierick (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) to odors and extracts of conspecific males and females, as potential pheromone-mediated sexual behaviors. Males rubbed the sternites of the gaster on filter paper in response to extracts of the female mesosoma and gaster, indicating possible scent-marking. In a Y-tube olfactometer, females oriented to extracts of the male head, gaster, legs, seventh sternite, and mandibular glands. In the olfactometer, males oriented to extracts of the female whole body, but were repelled by extracts of the female head. Both females and males oriented to solvent washes of glass jars that held wasps of the opposite sex, as well as volatile collections from the opposite sex. In a flight tunnel, males and females both exhibited chemoanemotaxis that consisted of upwind flight and close range casting in response to odor piped into the tunnel from live wasps of the opposite sex. Males mounted a female wasp model treated with an extract of the female mesosoma. Together, these experiments suggest pheromones stimulate male scent-marking, attraction of females to males and males to females, and mounting, in P. exclamans. Results indicate the mesosoma as a source of female pheromones, and the legs, gastral sternal glands, and mandibular glands, as male pheromone sources.

Facial Patterns are a Conventional Signal of Agonistic Ability in Polistes exclamans Paper Wasps

Some animals minimize the high costs of aggressive conflict by using conventional signals of agonistic ability to assess rivals prior to interacting. Conventional signals are more controversial than other signals of agonistic ability because they lack an inherent physical or physiological link with their bearer’s agonistic ability. Here, we test whether the variable brown facial stripes in Polistes exclamans paper wasps function as a conventional signal. Polistes exclamans were given the option of challenging or avoiding a rival with an experimentally altered facial pattern. Our results show that rival assessment is based on the facial patterns of rivals, as well as an individual’s own size, facial patterns, and nesting strategy. Individuals with larger body size and larger brown facial stripes were more likely to challenge rivals than individuals with smaller body size and smaller brown facial stripes. In addition, large individuals were more likely to challenge rivals with large brown facial stripes than small individuals, while an individual’s own body size did not influence whether or not they challenged rivals with small brown stripes. Individuals who previously nested in multiple queen groups approached rivals more rapidly than individuals who previously nested alone, suggesting that social experience also plays a role in rival assessment. Finally, rivals with small facial stripes were challenged more rapidly than those with large facial stripes. These results demonstrate that P. exclamans facial patterns function as a signal used to minimize the cost of conflict. However, individuals do not make simple decisions based on their rival’s signal alone, as an individual’s own social experience and agonistic abilities also influence rival assessment decisions.

Paper Wasps (Polistes spp.) Attacking Fall Armyworm Larvae (Spodoptera frugiperda ) in Turfgrass

The objective of this paper is to identify common species of paper wasps (Polistes spp.) attacking fall armyworm (Noctuidae: Spodoptera frugiperda) larvae and to investigate foraging activity in turfgrass. Three species - Polistes exclamans, P. dorsalis, and P. metricus - were collected while they foraged in bermudagrass turf. Polistes wasps forage in turf for about 10 h a day beginning a few hours after sunrise (0830 h), waning near midday, and increasing again in the late afternoon. Wasps were more abundant in plots infested with fall armyworms although these differences were statistically significant in one of three trials. The benefits of Polistes wasps may be conserved by scheduling insecticide applications in the early evening (0700 h or later) or by using reduced-risk insecticides.

Hypertrehalosemic factors from the corpora cardiaca of the honeybee ( Apis mellifera) and the paper wasp ( Polistes exclamans)

Measuring the total carbohydrate concentration in the haemolymph (anthrone-positive material), heterologous injections of honeybee ( Apis mellifera) and paper wasp ( Polistes exclamans) corpus cardiacum (CC) extracts resulted in hyperglycemia in Periplaneta, but homologous injection caused no increase in total blood carbohydrates. However, when individual sugars like glucose, fructose and trehalose were quantified using a high pressure liquid chromatography method, then homologous injections of CC extracts showed a distinct hypertrehalosemic effect in both hymenopteran species. There was no effect of the extracts on glucose or fructose titers. The decrease of glucose, fructose and trehalose titers during the time between taking blood samples in honeybees (because of starvation) had to be carefully monitored in order to detect the hypertrehalosemic effect of the extracts. Trehalose titers in unfed wasps on the other hand did not diminish during the time between blood sampling. In spite of large lipid stores in the fat body and a high blood lipid titer (15 mg/ml) in Polistes, there was a complete lack of hyperlipemic response to homologous injections of CC extracts. There was also no evidence of proline utilization as an energy source in either species.

POPULATION STRUCTURE AND KINSHIP IN POLISTES (HYMENOPTERA, VESPIDAE): AN ANALYSIS USING RIBOSOMAL DNA AND PROTEIN ELECTROPHORESIS.

Six variable protein loci and one variable ribosomal DNA restriction site were used for an analysis of population structure in five species of Polistes from Texas. A sample-reuse algorithm was developed that estimated FST , FIS , and ø (the coefficient of kinship) from probabilities of identity. Of the four species analyzed in detail only one, Polistes exclamans, had statistically significant values of FST . These values may reflect natural constraints on successful nesting for migrants of this species. Three of the four species had significant values of FIS and three of the four species had significant values of ø. In many cases ø also differed from the expected value under haplodiploidy and random mating. Values of ø did not differ from expectations under haplodiploidy and local inbreeding. These results emphasize that theories of social behavior and evolution based on coefficients of kinship should include some explicit consideration of population structure.

Sex attraction in paper wasp,Polistes exclamans viereck (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), in a wind tunnel

A wind-tunnel bioassay was developed to test for the presence of sex attractants in the paper wasp,Polistes exclamans Viereck (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Males exhibited significant upwind flight and attraction (chemoanemotaxis) in response to airflow passed over unmated females, and to hexane extracts of whole bodies and thoraces of unmated females. Unmated females were attracted to hexane extracts of males and to hexane extracts of each body tagma of males, suggesting distribution of the pheromone over the cuticle by grooming. The ectal mandibular and seventh sternal glands are the likely sources of the male-produced sex attractant(s) since extracts of each elicited female attraction in the flight tunnel. These glands are associated with gastral and mandibular rubbing of perch sites by territorial males ofPolistes species.

Nestmate and nest discrimination among workers from neighboring colonies of social wasps Polistes exclamans

I examined nestmate and nest recognition among worker paper wasps Polistes exclamans on neighboring colonies in a dense nesting aggregation. In the laboratory, there was a significant positive correlation between the difference in preference toward nestmates and non-nestmates and internest distance (i.e., distance in the field between the nestmates' and non-nestmates' nests). This is the first demonstration of a distance effect in nestmate recognition ability among Polistes. The field significance of the laboratory bioassay of nestmate preference was confirmed by releasing in the field workers whose nests had been removed (i.e., orphaned workers) and finding that they joined colonies near the site of their original nest. Orphaned workers also tended to join smaller colonies, perhaps because these workers had a greater opportunity for reproduction on smaller colonies. This pattern may also reflect a greater tendency on the part of inhabitants of smaller nests to admit joiners, because the addition of a worker may have had a greater impact on colony success on a smaller colony than on a larger nest. Finally, workers prefer fragments of nests located closer in the field to the workers' colony than fragments of more distant nests. This ability may aid workers in choosing which nests to join and which to rob.

Presence of Brood Affects Caste Differentiation in the Social Wasp, Polistes exclamans Viereck (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

In social insect colonies the sterile individuals that assume the worker role realize their reproductive potential through working and rearing the queen's brood. We have examined the role of the presence of brood in the nest as a determinant of caste in the social wasp Polistes exclamans Viereck. We predicted that wasps in colonies where there was no brood would behave like future queens, while wasps in colonies in which brood care was an option would behave like workers. Brood presence was manipulated by removing eggs and larvae or the whole nest from experimental colonies and leaving brood in control colonies. Ability to tolerate cold temperatures was used as an indicator of caste when comparing females emerging in experimental colonies to females emerging in control colonies. Females emerging in experimental colonies survived longer at cold temperatures than those emerging in control colonies. This indicates that females developed characteristics more typical of future queens in response to deprivation of brood. P. exclamans is characterized by small colonies whose nests are destroyed frequently. Therefore caste plasticity in adult females of P. exclamans is advantageous. Key-words: Caste determination, nesting cycle, Polistes exclamans, production schedules

Worker mortality and the evolution of castes in the social wasppolistes exclamans

Workers of the primitively social wasp,Polistes exclamans, had very short average lifespans, averaging 14 days (S.D.=11, N=497) in 1977, 17 days (S.D.=14, N=503) in 1978 and 14 days (S.D.=10, N=222) in 1979; the oldest worker observed on a natural colony was 102 days old. Colony of origin explained more of the variance in worker longevity than did any other variable. Worker longevity decreased over the season, accompanied by an increase in larval development times and an increase in colony failure rates. In 1978 workers emerging in the presence of greater numbers of other workers lived longer which indicates that they may have performed risky tasks less often when many other females were present. Compared to 1977 and 1979, 1978 was characterized by greater numbers of workers per colony, shorter larva development times, longer average lifespans for workers, much higher probabilities of nest survival and greater average production of reproductives per colony.

Allergens in Hymenoptera venom XIII: Isolation and purification of protein components from three species of vespid venoms

Pure venoms were collected from individual insects of the species Dolichovespula maculata, white-faced hornet, Vespula squarriosa, southern yellow jacket, and Polistes exclamans, paper wasp (one species). The venoms were first fractionated by high-resolution gel filtration on a 1.6 m column of Sephadex G-75 superfine, and the components were then purified by high-performance, ion-exchange chromatography on a Mono-S cation exchange column followed by a further gel filtration step. The isolated components were evaluated for purity by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis by use of two different types of silver stains, by assays for enzyme activities, and by immunodiffusion with the use of rabbit antisera. The protein components were isolated in highly purified states by these techniques. Only three significant proteases were found in V. squamosa venom: phospholipase (PL) A and B, hyaluronidase (HYAL), and antigen 5 (Ag 5). D. maculata venom contained HYAL, Ag 5, two isozymes of PL A and B, a high-molecular-weight protein, and several trace proteins. No significant amounts of proteases were found in D. maculata venom. P. exclamans venom contained HYAL, PL A and B, Ag 5, a high-molecular-weight protein, and several minor proteins. In all three venoms the PL A and B activities were found to be in the same molecule and did not separate. Trace components with apparent PL A activity were observed in the venoms. The venoms were screened for a variety of esterases, proteases, peptidases, glucosidases, and phosphatases, and none were detected in more than trace amounts. Vespid venoms do not appear to contain significant amounts of acid phosphatases as bee venoms do.

Gerontocracy in the social wasp, Polistes exclamans

We observed three naturally occurring Polistes exclamans nests in Austin, Texas for 139 h through a succession of 13 queens. Nine of the 13 replacement queens were the oldest individuals on the nest, forming a system of queen replacement that may be described as a gerontocracy. Before becoming queen, replacement queens foraged more and were more aggressive than females who never became queen. This system of old forager supersedure was similar to that found in other temperate species but contrasted with that reported for tropical species of wasps in which younger females who are not workers occupy the higher ranks just beneath the queen.

Parasitoids, Predators, and Group Size in the Paper Wasp, Polistes Exclamans

The paper wasp Polistes exclamans loses part of its brood to the parasitoids Chalcoela iphitalis (Lepidoptera:Pyralidae) and Elasmus polistis (Hymenoptera:Chalcidoidea:Eulophidae) and loses entire nests to bird predation, Crematogaster laeviuscula (Hymenoptera:Formicidae) predation, and orphanage (loss of all adult wasps). More nests fail because of bird predation than from all other causes combined. Larger nests are neither better protected nor more vulnerable to nest predators, though larger nests are less likely to fail because of orphanage than are smaller nests. Larger nests are more heavily attacked by Elasmus polistis, which reinfests its natal nest. Polistes exclamans may subdivide larger groups of females by forming satellite nests because of the lack of an overall advantage to large nests. Satellite nests increase the probability that the brood in either the original nest or satellite nest will avoid bird predation.

Evolutionary implications of early male and satellite nest production in Polistes exclamans colony cycles

1. Polistes exclamans populations in central Texas have a unique colony cycle. Of all P. exclamans nests 20%–38% produce males with the first brood of workers. Nests producing early males have significantly more females, cells, pupae, and emergences at the time of early male production than nests not producing early males. 2. Early male production may have originated as an adaptation caused by the large number of queens that die before autumn reproductive males and females are produced. It allows egg laying by workers with whom early males mate. 3. Queens or workers sometimes leave their original nest and start new nests nearby that must be joined by workers from the original nest if they are to succeed. Such ‘satellite nests’ were initiated from May to July by 16%–39% of all nests, depending on the population. Although nests initiating satellites have significantly more females and pupae than nests not initiating satellites, satellite nest production by a given nest is not dependent on prior early male production, and is independent of the number of foundresses. 4. More P. exclamans nests 1976–1979 were lost to birds than to any other cause. In the period 1976–1979, 66.7% of the 12 nests with satellites succeeded in producing reproductives after being knocked down while only 5.7% of the 87 nests without satellites that were knocked down were subsequently successful. Concealed nests are less vulnerable to bird predation. 5. The brood parasitoid, C. iphitalis, a pyralid moth, avoids previously infested nests, therefore satellite nesting does not reduce the impact of this parasitoid. However, the brood parasitoid E. polistis, a chalcid wasp, lays eggs in the nest it emerges from, hence a satellite nest provides an escape when this parasitoid is already in the main nest.

Non-immunochemical complexing between hymenopteran venoms and rabbit sera

Certain low-molecular weight, basic proteins of Polistes exclamans, P. annularis, P. metricus, Vespula maculata (bald-faced hornet), and Apis mellifera (honey-bee) venoms are capable of complexing with normal (base line) rabbit serum. Precipitin lines form in agar (Oüchterlony double diffusion and immunoelectrophoresis) which have somewhat different qualities than true immunoprecipitin lines. They are less distinct and stain not only with protein stains but with lipophilic stains as well. The non-immunologic complexing involves a serum component (or components) other than Immunoglobulin G, perhaps lipoprotein.

Manipulation of Polistes exclamans arizonensias1 , 2

Polistes exclamans arizonensis Snelling was successfully overwintered in a cage provided with stacks of cardboard interspersed with spacers. When the wasps emerged in the spring they readily nested in a 1.2×1.8×1.2-m shelter with screen on 3 sides. The wasps were fed 4th- to 6th-stage larvae of the tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens (F.), and provided with kraft paper torn into small bits for nesting material. A mean of 5.3 budworm larvae was rcquired for nutrition of each wasp.

Amerikanische Polistes‐Art mit ihrem bislang noch unbekannten Parasiten nach Deutschland verschleppt (Hym., Vespoidea u. Chalcidoidea)1

AbstractPolistes exclamans Vier. introduced to Europe from USA together with its parasite hitherto unknown. Hidden in the inside of a special motorcar‐bumper a full grown nest of the American Polistes exclamans Vier. had been transported in Sept. 1969 from Pittsburg (Pennsylvania) to Groß Bieberau/Odenwald (Western Germany). There could be caught 19 emerged exclamans‐specimens and 25 specimens of a Chalcidide‐parasite unknown even in U.S.A. This species has been described in 1971 by Dr. Burks, Washington, as Elasmus polistis nov. spec.

DIFFERENTIAL VARIATION OF MALES AND FEMALES IN POLISTES EXCLAMANS.

The purpose of this study is to provide a biometrical approach to the question whether male Hymenoptera, produced from unfertilized eggs, are more or less variable in external morphological traits than the bisexually produced females. Polistes exclamans Viereck was chosen because sizable sibling groups (nest populations) including both sexes were readily available, the sexual dimorphism is not as marked as in some Hymenoptera, and it was possible to obtain male and female siblings which underwent development under comparable environmental conditions (i.e., at the same season of the year, and in the same size pupal cell). Unlike some other Polistes species, P. exclamans has only one foundress queen per spring nest. Unfortunately most of the early work that treated this question preceded modern genetics and hence was conducted with an erroneous theoretical background. Some of the authors (Casteel and Phillips, 1903; Kellogg and Bell, 1904; Kellogg, 1906) cite Weismann's theory of amphimixis as predicting that sexually produced individuals (females) should be more variable than parthenogenetically produced males. The collapse of this argument in the wake of the development of genetics was apparently responsible for the subsequent lack of interest in the problem: after the rash of papers early in the century, and Phillips' (1929) second study, no studies of the problem have appeared. Now the theoretical viewpoint has changed completely; it seems logical to argue that males, since there are no heterozygotes for any given locus, should be more variable than females, that is, more extremes should appear in the male population. Accordingly, in the section entitled Theoretical Genotypic Variances, following, theoretical expectations are developed which predict that the genotypic variance of haploid males should be greater than that of their diploid sisters. However, it is also possible to argue that the hemizygosity of the males would provide a lower dosage of a given gene than that of a homozygous female, so that the total variation of males and females might be approximately equal; or genes whose effects are limited to the female sex (Kerr, 1967) might be common in the population, which would lead to a similar result. The bearing of the results of this study on these possibilities is treated in the Discussion section; however, it is apparent that the answer to this problem has not lost its pertinence to the genetics and evolution of the Hymenoptera, or of arrhenotoky in general. The early papers also suffered from another major disadvantage in that they antedated the growth of statistics, and particularly multivariate statistics, which is particularly well suited to attack such a problem. Nevertheless their results are interesting and are briefly reviewed. Casteel and Phillips (1903) studied the comparative variability of the wings and appendages of worker and drone Apis mellifera L. They concluded that the drones were the more variable, both in linear measurements and in the occurrence of a much greater number of wing-vein abnormalities. In both this study and the more extensive one by Phillips (1929), the greater variability of the males is attrib1 Contribution number 1406 from the Department of Entomology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. Done in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Entomology. 2 Present address: Department of Entomology and Limnology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14850.