Respiratory metabolism and energetics of Polistes paper wasp larvae and pupae from differing climates

In ectotherms metabolic rate usually increases disproportionately with ambient temperature within the viable thermal range. This leads to an expectation of a physiological adaptation which balances the benefits and costs of the environmental conditions of the habitat. Polistes paper wasps is a globally distributed genus that inhabits a wide range of thermal environments. Their metabolism and energy requirements are expected to be dependent on life history and the environmental conditions of their habitat. We examined the CO₂ production of larvae and pupae of three species (P. dominula, P. gallicus, P. biglumis) from different climates (Temperate, Mediterranean, Alpine). We investigated larvae and pupae across a temperature range of 5-45 °C. In combination with microclimate measurements, we estimated the energy requirements for an entire breeding season. The metabolic rate increased sigmoidally with increasing temperature in all species and stages. A comparison of the mass-specific metabolic rate revealed a similar relationship in all species and stages, with the exception of P. gallicus larvae which had a significantly lower metabolism, particularly at higher temperatures. The energy expenditure was lowest in P. biglumis, which was mainly attributed to the lower environmental temperatures. When calculating energy requirements under future conditions with increasing temperatures, an additional energetic demand of between 6 and 23% was observed.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00040-025-01053-x.