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A quantitative threshold for nest-mate recognition in a paper social wasp.

Alessandro Cini1, Letizia Gioli, Rita Cervo

  • 1Dipartimento di Biologia Evoluzionistica Leo Pardi, Università di Firenze, Florence, Italy. alessandro.cini@unifi.it

Biology Letters
|May 5, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Social wasps use cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) for nest-mate recognition. This study shows that the amount of CHCs influences resident wasp aggression, supporting the chemical insignificance hypothesis in host-parasite interactions.

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Area of Science:

  • Chemical ecology
  • Animal behavior
  • Social insect biology

Background:

  • Nest-mate recognition is crucial for social insect colony defense against intruders.
  • Cuticular semiochemicals mediate aggression between resident and intruder social insects.
  • The relationship between cue quantity and response intensity is often assumed but rarely tested.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test the hypothesis that increased cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) quantity elicits a stronger aggressive response in social wasps.
  • To investigate the role of CHC quantity in the chemical insignificance strategy of social parasites.
  • To examine the chemical recognition system in the social wasp Polistes dominulus.

Main Methods:

  • Experimental manipulation of cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) amounts on foreign females.
  • Observation of resident foundress behavioral reactions (aggression) to varying CHC loads.
  • Utilizing Polistes dominulus as a model system, known for its social parasites.

Main Results:

  • Different amounts of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) from foreign females evoked quantitatively distinct behavioral reactions in resident foundresses.
  • A threshold in the chemical recognition system was identified, correlating CHC quantity with elicited response.
  • The findings support the chemical insignificance hypothesis in a Polistes wasp host-parasite system.

Conclusions:

  • The quantity of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) plays a significant role in nest-mate recognition and aggression in Polistes wasps.
  • The chemical insignificance hypothesis is supported in this host-parasite system, explaining reduced semiochemicals in some parasites.
  • While supporting the hypothesis, other explanations for semiochemical reduction should not be disregarded.