Polistes versicolor, also known as the variegated paper wasp or yellow paper wasp[note 1], is a subtropical social wasp within Polistes, the most common genus of paper wasp. It is the most widely distributed of South American wasp species and is particularly common in the Southeastern Brazilian states.[3] This social wasp is commonly referred to as the yellow paper wasp due to the distinct yellow bands found on its thorax and abdomen.[4] The P. versicolor nest, made of chewed vegetable fiber, is typically a single, uncovered comb attached to the substrate by a single petiole.[5] The yellow wasp is frequently found in urban areas. New nests and colonies are usually founded by an association of females, sometimes in human buildings.[6]
The P. versicolor colony cycle broadly ranges from 3 to 10 months, although there appears to be no relationship between the colony's development and the season of the year. While yellow paper wasps do have clear annual colony cycles, many young queens have the opportunity to hibernate during the winter, forming optional winter aggregations.[4] Dominance hierarchies within these aggregations are characterized by physical aggression of the dominant female(s) towards the associated females, who tend to be sisters.[7] Wagging movements are also often used as a form of communication within the colony.[8] The yellow paper wasp is generally predatory, capturing a wide range of insects, although it often feeds on pollen and nectar as well.[9] Therefore, P. versicolor can be useful as a pollinator or as effective pest control.[10]
Taxonomy and phylogeny
The French entomologist Guillaume-Antoine Olivier described the yellow paper wasp in 1791. Its species name, versicolor, is a Latin term that means a variety of colors, perhaps referring to the bright coloration of its abdomen and thorax. Within the subfamily Polistinae of the family Vespidae, the genus Polistes (paper wasps) has about 200 species distributed throughout the world mostly in the tropical region. A widely studied genus, Polistes is now considered a model organism useful in understanding the evolution of social behavior.[11] The yellow paper wasp is a member of the New World Polistes, which are found in the subgenus Aphanilopterus.[12] As morphological variation among the Aphanilopterus is small, P. versicolor shares many similarities with its Aphanilopterus relatives, especially P. instabilis. Both species may form winter aggregations when living at high altitudes. Ecologically, the yellow paper wasp lives in conditions similar to those of other temperate zone species, such as P. fuscatus (in the subgenus Fuscopolistes) and P. canadensis (also in the subgenus Aphanilopterus). While the seasonal conditions are not drastic in terms of temperature, these species both live in places with a pronounced dry season.[4]
Description and identification
Both male and female P. versicolor have yellow transparent wings and a black body featuring the characteristic yellow bands on the thorax and abdomen. The differences between females are exclusively size-related. Within an aggregation of yellow paper wasps, the queens are the indisputably largest females and newly emerged females are the smallest. Aggregated females are larger than all other females. The female body sizes within a colony often depend on the environmental conditions: an increase in body size is often seen with the approach of an unfavorable season.[4]
Nest construction
New colonies and nests are usually founded by an association of females. Before beginning the construction, the foundress first makes recognition flights, inspecting the structure to be used for the nest by flying close to the selected area and touching the substrate with its antennae. The papery nests are often a grayish coloration and frequently built on gypsum plaster. Foundations of nests on gypsum plaster have been found to be significantly larger than those on other types of substrate, a testament to the synanthropy of the yellow paper wasp.[6] On average, the P. versicolor nest consists of 244.2 cells and 171.67 adult wasps. Colony size can vary from seven females (foundress associations) to nearly 100 females (mature colonies).[4] Once the location for the new colony foundation is established, the construction begins with the peduncle: vegetable material is chewed with saliva and then attached to the substrate in thread form. The first cell is then constructed with a circular format, during which the female constantly touches the cell sides with its antennae. Afterwards, hexagonal outlines are formed as peripheral cells are built around the initial circular cell and attached to neighboring cells. As larvae develop in the cells, chewed vegetable fiber is added to the extremities of the cells to elevate their wall height. Throughout the colony cycle, as the colonies grow and the cell numbers increase, the peduncle is further reinforced with additional plant fiber to ensure adequate support for the nest as it enlarges.[6]
Distribution and habitat
Widely distributed throughout South America, the yellow paper wasp’s distribution ranges from Costa Rica to Argentina.[4] High densities of P. versicolor have been observed on the high mountains of the Turimiquire massif in Anzoategui State, Venezuela, most likely caused by migration due to the seasonal periodicity associated with the dry season.[13] The yellow paper wasp’s nests can frequently be found in natural environments with substrata consisting of leaves, branches, roots, stones, and even the abandoned nests of other social wasp species. In some cases, the wasp actually takes over empty Mischocyttarus drewseni nests to lay their eggs instead of creating their own nests.[14] Often, however, its nests are found in human constructions; the yellow paper wasp is facultatively synanthropic.[5]P. versicolor even appear to nest preferably in human constructions in areas with little human activity; nests in natural vegetation are increasingly rare. This has been linked to the fact that the fragility of plants often does not offer appropriate support for the nest and exposes the nest to the stress of weather. In contrast, nests on manmade gypsum plaster are typically found in high places in buildings, where these nests are highly protected from not only human interference, but also weather and direct solar irradiation.[6]
Colony cycle
While P. versicolor seems to rely on strictly annual colony cycles at high latitudes and altitudes, the colony cycle length can vary; short-cycle colonies can have life expectancies ranging from three to six months while long-cycle colonies can range from six to ten months. In colonies studied in southwest Brazil (where the yellow paper wasp is particularly common), the colony cycle broadly ranges from 3 to 10 months. Although the climatic conditions may directly or indirectly affect colony productivity, the yellow paper wasp is an asynchronous species, as there appears to be no relationship between the colony’s development and the season of the year. An aggregation may start in the broad interval of March to August and founders do not leave the aggregation at the same time. Therefore, new foundations can occur in different periods. In southeastern Brazil, aggregations of the yellow paper wasp start in early March, before winter, and last until mid-August. The egg stage can vary from 5 to 16 days long, the larval stage can vary from 12 to 46 days long, and the pupal stage can vary from 16 to 26 days long. The average lifetime of a subordinate worker ranges from 10 to 17 days.[3] Males can stay in the colony for a few days before being forced by leave by the females. While only new queens traditionally initiate new colonies as they leave their previous nests, aggregation within P. versicolor represents an alternative path for females, offering them the choice between starting a new nest and waiting to be a foundress. Newly emerged females can thus choose to be workers, waiting a year to be a foundress until more favorable conditions arise. Females with long colony cycles could also replace a reproductive as an egg layer on the former nest as well.[4]
Winter aggregations
The yellow paper wasps have clear annual colony cycles, but the young queens of the colonies also have the opportunity to hibernate during the winter. Given the absence of a harsh climate, the occurrence of winter aggregations in the tropical P. versicolor is optional; there are some colonies that do not form these aggregations in their annual cycle. Winter aggregation is thus different from the diapause observed in species living in temperate climates subjected to adverse climatic conditions. Rather, winter aggregation in this tropical species reflects the behavioral adaptability of the yellow paper wasp, allowing females to wait for better environmental conditions to start a new nest, rather than being forced to start a new nest as soon as they emerge.[7] Winter aggregations (composed of hibernating queens) often produce larger females, who then are more likely to successfully become new queens. Within aggregations, most individuals possess developing ovaries. Young can develop their ovaries before the aggregation, but many females develop their ovaries during the time spent in aggregation while waiting for a better season to found a nest.[4]
Effects of human activity
With increasing numbers of P. versicolor nests built in urban areas in human constructions, the yellow paper wasps have discovered many advantages, such as a reduction in interspecific competition, protection against a variety of climatic factors and protection from predation, especially by vertebrates.
On colony strategies
This increased interaction with human activity can clearly be seen on the varying strategies adopted by the wasp colonies. In habitats more altered by human activity, 60% of yellow paper wasp nests occur on human constructions and 40% occur on trees. In contrast, in habitats less altered by human activity, 100% of the nests are found in trees, even if there are buildings nearby. In the habitats less altered by human activity, there is a significant positive correlation between the number of cells constructed and the number of adults produced, as well as between the diameter of the petiole and the nest dry mass. In these colonies, the population increases proportionally with the size of the nest. This similar increase is not seen as clearly in habitats more altered by human activity. This may be because in environments with more human activity, a larger nest may attract more attention and is therefore more likely to be eliminated. The yellow paper wasps may have adapted to this situation, preferring to reuse cells instead of increasing the size of the nest.
On colony productivity
Resulting ramifications on colony productivity have also been shown. The productivity in the habitat less altered is significantly higher than in the habitat more altered, with respect to the number of cells constructed, number of adults produced, dry mass of nests, and proportion of productive cells. In the habitats more altered by human activity, there is a large concentration of buildings and predominantly grassy vegetation, suggesting fewer available resources for which the colonies to build nests from. Habitat quality has been shown to help contribute to the lower colony productivity in these environments greatly altered by human activity. For example, the amount of resources (such as the larvae of other insects) available for feeding immatures has been more limited in habitats with higher human activity.[5]
Dominance hierarchy
With the tropical P. Versicolor, colony founding can often occur by multiple females as foundress females join to construct a new nest or, more traditionally, queens can initiate new nests separately. Just after the founding phase, a linear reproductive dominance hierarchy is established. The dominant female holds a monopoly on egg-laying, thereby spending longer periods of time within the nest while the workers forage. The dominant female also receives a greater share of food than her nestmates. In contrast, rather than focus on reproduction, the subordinate foundresses take on the workload of the nest, working on cell construction, nest defense, and foraging (for prey, nectar, water, etc.). Conflicts of interest among future foundresses remain high as they compete over the shared resources of nourishment, such as protein. Unequal nourishment is often what leads to the size differences that result in dominant-subordinate position rankings. As egg-layers tend to receive more protein than those who are not egg-layers, as is the general pattern, the dominant-subordinate context in the yellow paper wasps is directly related to the exchange of food. Therefore, if during the winter aggregate, the female is able to obtain greater access to food, the female could thus reach a dominant position. This competition and aggression over resources suggest that winter aggregations can be fragile associations.[7] Aggression is usually seen when a usurping female challenges the founder. This aggression can range from nipping to the more extreme physical forms of aggression such as biting and stinging (often fatal).[3]
Division of labor
While the distribution of P. versicolor behavior in the post-emergence phase shows little relationship to an individual’s age, the distribution of labor appears instead to correlate with dominant and subordinate statuses (which tend to correlate with size). Dominant females check cells, build new cells, and oviposit significantly more frequently than subordinates. Meanwhile, subordinate females also perform tasks like licking the nest petiole, feeding the larvae, and foraging more frequently than dominant females. Subordinates complete 81.4% of the total foraging activity, while dominants only complete 18.6% of the total foraging.[3]
Worker activity
The worker activity in the yellow paper wasp is episodic, characterized by pause periods (when all individuals are immobile) and periods of intense activity (most individuals are in motion; wasps are foraging, feeding larvae, and interacting with each other). No single individual (or queen) is responsible for starting and stopping periods of activity or physically stimulating the departure of workers. Rather, the organization of working periods seems to be more of a self-organizing, decentralized system in which the workers themselves regulate colony activity. This is a more efficient way to satisfy the colony because the colony development and nest maintenance activities can continue even after queen loss. Most activity periods are triggered by workers returning from foraging to the nest with material for the colony. Foraging activity itself appears to be influenced by the interactions between various members of the colony or direct access of workers to the needs of the colony. Some of the mechanisms that can regulate foraging activity include aggression.[15]
Reproductive suppression
Either an association of females or one dominant queen often founds the yellow paper wasp nests; reproductive dominance is often established soon after the founding period. This reproductive dominance is often characterized by physical aggression of the dominant female(s) directed at the associated females who tend to be sisters. Most females who join aggregations have undeveloped ovaries, while most females from foundress associations have well-developed ovaries. Since only larger females present with higher ovarian development, size (or something correlated with size) appears to be a limiting factor for attaining queen status in P. versicolor. The subordinates can remain potentially fertile and can eventually oviposit, but under extreme dominance conditions, some females reabsorb their oocytes in the nest’s postemergence phase. While insemination is not restricted necessarily to the larger females, the smaller females are never inseminated. In aggregations, 75% of the females are inseminated, whereas in founder associations, 85% of the females are inseminated. The queen seeks to discourage reproduction from other females in the nest and thus exerts physical dominance to ensure this. However, ovarian diapause is absent in foundress associations. This provides the advantage that foundresses are able to start new nests and lay eggs immediately after they leave an aggregation.[4]
Genetic relatedness between colonies
Unlike reports of diploid males in other species of Polistes, none of the analyzed P. versicolor males presented with a heterozygous phenotype in any loci, indicating the absence of diploid yellow paper wasp males. Genetic relatedness within P. versicolor broods is found to be lower than the r = 0.75 for females and r = 0.5 for males that would be expected for haplodiploid species under monogynous conditions; it has been found, however, that P. versicolor doesn't necessarily mate under monogynous conditions. The low genetic relatedness is another consequence of the presence of more than one egg-laying female in about 40% of yellow paper wasp colonies. This suggests that dominant queens partially lose control of their monopoly on reproduction in the nests, resulting in several other females occasionally laying eggs. Often, the queen monopolizes reproduction in the lower regions of the nest containing the new cells; however, because the queen often remains in these lower regions, there is potential for other females to lay eggs in the upper areas of the nest with the recycled cells. This is supported by the fact that the levels of genetic relatedness are higher among the offspring from the lower areas of the nests compared to the upper areas, where more than one female would be laying eggs in the same area. This occurrence of spatially discontinuous oviposition areas is a sign of both the existence of more than one egg-laying female and territoriality, where each female and her associates take care of their respective broods. Thus, kin recognition is facilitated by territoriality, which compensates for the low kin-recognition ability among nestmates.[16]
Costs and benefits of sociality
Foundress association is a common strategy for the yellow paper wasp. 90.06% of colonies founded by a single female P. versicolor fail; a single foundress will often abandon the nest after the founding phase before the larvae appear to join other foundresses to form associations. While the productivity of individual foundresses is lower in colonies with foundress associations than in colonies with a single foundress, the overall colony itself is more productive in a foundress association—the duration of the pre-emergence phase is reduced and group size is directly related to the number of cells built. Therefore, foundress association appears to be a strategy in which the benefits from protection against parasitism and usurpation, ergonomic synergism, and the increase of survival levels outweigh the costs to the individual foundress’ productivity.[6]
Evidence of sociality
Evidence for the establishment of sociality as an optimization strategy for P. versicolor can be seen in the frequent shift in females between adjacent nests. Both females with developed eggs in their ovaries and workers can be found shifting between nests, even if the relatedness between the shifting females and the foundresses of the new nest are considered to be low. Despite the low genetic relatedness within and between nests, overt dominance behavior and aggression among females remains significantly lower than that found in other paper wasps, showing how important sociality is as a strategy for the yellow paper wasp.[17]
Communication
P. versicolor is known for its wagging movements as a form of communication within the colony. The yellow paper wasp can waggle with a frequency of 10.6±2.1Hz (n=190).[8] The wasp walks over the cells of the nest and wiggles its gaster horizontally, with the last abdominal segment suspended over the pupae and larvae. Two wagging periods that last 0.33±0.09 seconds (n=34) each occur within a second. The next pair follows after 10 or 20 seconds. During these wagging movements, two types of sound bursts accompany the movements, with intensities between 70 and 80dB. Dominant females exhibited 10.2% of the recorded wagging behavior while subordinates were recorded performing only 1.4% of this behavior. Because the wagging movements are displayed significantly more frequently by dominants than subordinates (p<0.01), this behavior has been associated with dominance. It is suspected that the wagging movements may be related to the release of “dominance pheromones” during cell inspection and food exchange with larvae.[3] Therefore, the wagging can be seen as part of a defensive behavior. The subordinates often perform these wagging movements upon the return of a forager to the nest. These wagging movements, along with other communication mechanisms, such as lateral vibration, antennae touching and aggression are social behaviors that these yellow paper wasps use to state the needs of the colony. For example, the wagging movements can signal the arrival of new material into the nest and aggression between workers can be used to stimulate others to increase foraging expeditions.[8]
Diet
The worker yellow paper wasps tend to complete the bulk of colony feeding. The secretion of the workers’ hypopharyngeal glands is the main constituent of the royal jelly produced by the workers to feed the brood. The development of these glands can be clearly linked to the behaviors carried out by the workers in the nest; queens and males do not possess developed hypopharyngeal glands. After emergence, workers from the 3rd to the 18th day feed almost exclusively on pollen, which provides the protein needed to produce the royal jelly in their hypopharyngeal glands that feeds the rest of the brood. After the 18th day, the workers become foragers, constantly flying to and from the nest to collect food; they switch from feeding on pollen to feeding on nectar, which can better provide for their energetic needs. With the switch to nectar consumption comes a large reduction of their hypopharyngeal glands. However, these structures remain active throughout the lives of these wasps.[18]P. versicolor is generally a predatory wasp, capturing a wide range of insects. While they don’t typically have a prey preference, the yellow paper wasps usually feed on insects from the orders Lepidoptera (95.4%) and Coleoptera (1.1%). Chlosyne lacinia saundersii (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) is the most collected prey (13.5%).[19]
Defense
Ant attacks represent the largest predatory pressure for P. versicolor. The yellow paper wasps have developed various ways to combat these ants, one of which is through their nest construction. Since the nests are single combs fixed to a substrate by a peduncle, the suspended cells are often protected from attack by ants.[6] If there is an ant attack, nest abandonment is easier and allows for a more rapid escape due to the fact that the wasps do not build envelopes over their nests. In addition, these wasps possess a gland located in the VI abdominal sternite (van de Vecht’s gland) that is primarily responsible for making an ant repellent substance. Tufts of hair near the edge of the VI abdominal sternite store and apply the ant repellent, secreting the ant repellent through a rubbing behavior. Although this rubbing behavior occurs throughout the colony cycle, it can be seen most frequently in the pre-emergence stage. Females in the pre-emergence stage are very busy with multiple tasks; therefore, it is more worthwhile for the female to invest in chemical defense in the post-emergence stage. Such active defense often includes alarm behavior, in which the wasps assume an upright stance, open their wings, and point their antennae at the source of their alarm. As the yellow paper wasps wiggle their gasters, alarm pheromones are thought to be released. These alarm behaviors have been linked to the presence of the parasitic Ichneumonidae; these parasitic females inject eggs into the hosts or lay eggs external to the host so that the larvae can attack the host from the outside.[20]
Agriculture
Each colony of P. versicolor is estimated to capture 4,015 insect preys per year. Thus, these yellow paper wasp colonies can prove to be a powerful strategy for pest management of herbivorous insects, especially defoliating caterpillars. By transferring P. versicolor to artificial shelters, these colonies can be managed and used to restore the balance between the species in agricultural ecosystems with relatively minimal costs.[10] In addition to agricultural pest management, P. versicolor can also be a useful pollinator. These social wasps mainly feed on honeydew, fruit juices, and nectar. While foraging for these food supplies, especially nectar, the yellow paper wasps are able to simultaneously pollinate many flowering plants. They are most attracted to species of the plant family Asteraceae, which not only have a large nectar resource concealed at a depth of only a few millimeters, but also include species flowering in May and June, allowing pollen to be collected in addition to nectar.[9]
Stings
P. versicolor contains relatively large amounts of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in its venom and venom-containing body parts, such as its stinger. While the stinging apparatus of the larvae and pupae yield equivalent amounts of 5-HT, the stinging apparatus of the adult wasps has a much higher content of 0.87 μg of 5-HT per individual. But the stinging apparatus is not the sole source of 5-HT in these wasps; rather, a relatively large amount of 5-HT has also been found in the heads of the yellow paper wasp. The 5-HT in this venom has been found to play at least two roles: one in defense as a pain-producing agent and the other in the distribution and penetration of the paralyzing components to vulnerable sites in the offender. Acetylcholine, histamine, and kinins are other factors found in the venom that assist the 5-HT in both defense and pain penetration. These factors work in combination to produce pain by depolarizing certain sensory nerve endings as the result of ion movements and changes in permeability. In addition, these proteins work to increase the rate of absorption of the paralyzing venom into tissues and body fluids. This results in the rapid immobilization of the animal or of the certain body parts of the animal receiving the venom.[21]
Polistes is a cosmopolitan genus of paper wasps and the only genus in the tribe Polistini. Vernacular names for the genus include umbrella wasps, coined by Walter Ebeling in 1975 to distinguish it from other types of paper wasp, in reference to the form of their nests, and umbrella paper wasps. Polistes is the single largest genus within the family Vespidae, with over 200 recognized species. Their innate preferences for nest-building sites leads them to commonly build nests on human habitation, where they can be very unwelcome; although generally not aggressive, they can be provoked into defending their nests. All species are predatory, and they may consume large numbers of caterpillars, in which respect they are generally considered beneficial.
The European paper wasp is one of the most common and well-known species of social wasps in the genus Polistes. Its diet is more diverse than those of most Polistes species—many genera of insects versus mainly caterpillars in other Polistes—giving it superior survivability compared to other wasp species during a shortage of resources.
Polistes gallicus is a species of paper wasp found in various parts of Europe, excluding England, Denmark, and Scandinavia, from warmer climates to cooler regions north of the Alps. Nests of these social insects are created in these various conditions. The Polistes species use an oral secretion to construct their nests, which consist of a combination of saliva and chewed plant fibers. This structural mixture physically protects the nest from various harsh elements and from weathering over time.
Polistes humilis, known as the Australian paper wasp, is a species of wasp in the family Vespidae that is found throughout Australia and which has been introduced to northern New Zealand. These paper wasps can be identified by their long thin legs and banded yellow and black coloring. They have been known to re-utilize old nests. While the species does not exhibit morphological class differences, there are distinct behavioral differences between queens and workers. In addition, the species is eusocial and benefits from relatedness between individuals. They are known for delivering a painful sting, especially when their nest is disturbed, a behavior that has been developed as a nest defense mechanism. While wasps are often viewed negatively, they play an important pollination role for many plants.
Ropalidia marginata is an Old World species of paper wasp. It is primitively eusocial, not showing the same bias in brood care seen in other social insects with greater asymmetry in relatedness. The species employs a variety of colony founding strategies, sometimes with single founders and sometimes in groups of variable number. The queen does not use physical dominance to control workers; there is evidence of pheromones being used to suppress other female workers from overtaking queenship.
Polistes annularis is a species of paper wasp found throughout the eastern half of the United States. This species of red paper wasp is known for its large size and its red-and-black coloration and is variably referred to as a ringed paper wasp or jack Spaniard wasp. It builds its nest under overhangs near bodies of water that minimize the amount of sunlight penetration. It clusters its nests together in large aggregations, and consumes nectar and other insects. Its principal predator is the ant, although birds are also known to prey on it. Unlike other wasps, P. annularis is relatively robust in winter conditions, and has also been observed to store honey in advance of hibernation. This species has also been used as a model species to demonstrate the ability to use microsatellite markers in maternity assignment of social insects.
Polistes metricus is a wasp native to North America. In the United States, it ranges throughout the southern Midwest, the South, and as far northeast as New York, but has recently been spotted in southwest Ontario. A single female specimen has also been reported from Dryden, Maine. Polistes metricus is dark colored, with yellow tarsi and black tibia. Nests of Polistes metricus can be found attached to the sides of buildings, trees, and shrubbery.
Polistes fuscatus, whose common name is the dark or northern paper wasp, is widely found in eastern North America, from southern Canada through the southern United States. It often nests around human development. However, it greatly prefers areas in which wood is readily available for use as nest material, therefore they are also found near and in woodlands and savannas. P. fuscatus is a social wasp that is part of a complex society based around a single dominant foundress along with other cofoundresses and a dominance hierarchy.
Belonogaster juncea is a typical quasisocial paper wasp from sub-saharan Africa and south-western Asia. It is the type species for the genus Belonogaster.
Polistes carolina is one of two species of red paper wasp found in the eastern United States and is noted for the finer ridges on its propodeum. It is a social wasp in the family Vespidae and subfamily Polistinae. The species is native to the United States from Texas to Florida, north to New York, and west to Nebraska. The wasp's common name is due to the reddish-brown color of its head and body. P. carolina prefer to build their nests in protected spaces.
Polistes instabilis, or unstable paper wasp is a type of paper wasp, is a neotropical, eusocial wasp that can be found in tropical and subtropical areas such as Central America and South America. It can be easily identified with its characteristic yellow, brown, and reddish markings, and it builds nests made from chewing plant fibers and making them into paper.
Polistes nimpha is a eusocial paper wasp found all over Europe, with particular sightings in Turkey, Finland, Estonia, and Latvia. It is also found in northern Africa, Pakistan, Iran, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and China. The climate in these areas is relatively cold and snowy in the winter, while summers are usually hot and dry, with steppe vegetation. Polistes nimpha colonies are relatively small and easily manipulated.
Polistes bellicosus is a social paper wasp from the order Hymenoptera typically found within Texas, namely the Houston area. Like other paper wasps, Polistes bellicosus build nests by manipulating exposed fibers into paper to create cells. P. bellicosus often rebuild their nests at least once per colony season due to predation.
Polistes canadensis is a species of red paper wasp found in the Neotropical realm. It is a primitively eusocial wasp as a member of the subfamily Polistinae. A largely predatory species, it hunts for caterpillar meat to supply its colony, often supplementing its developing larvae with nectar. The most widely distributed American species of the genus Polistes, it colonizes multiple combs, which it rears year-round.
Polistes biglumis is a species of social wasp within Polistes, the most common genus of paper wasp. It is distinguished mainly by its tendency to reside in montane climates in meadows or alpine areas. Selection pressure from the wasp's environment has led to several idiosyncrasies of its behavior and lifecycle with respect to its relative species in the genus Polistes. It alone among paper wasps is often polyandrous. In addition, it has a truncated nesting season that gives rise to unique competitive dynamics among females of the species. P. biglumis wasps use an odor-based recognition system that is the basis for all wasp-to-wasp interaction of the species. The wasp's lifecycle is highly intertwined with that of Polistes atrimandibularis, an obligate social parasite wasp that frequently invades the combs of P. biglumis wasps.
Polistes semenowi is a species of paper wasp in the genus Polistes that is found in southeastern and southern central Europe, as well as central Asia, and was until 2017 erroneously known by the name Polistes sulcifer, while a different species was incorrectly believed to represent P. semenowi. It is one of only four known Polistes obligate social parasites, sometimes referred to as "cuckoo paper wasps", and its host is the congeneric species Polistes dominula. As an obligate social parasite, this species has lost the ability to build nests, and relies on the host workers to raise its brood. P. semenowi females use brute force, followed by chemical mimicry in order to successfully usurp a host nest and take over as the queen.
Ropalidia plebeiana is a eusocial temperate paper wasp. It is unique, as it is the only temperate wasp in the typically tropical Ropalidia genus. R. plebeiana is widely distributed in eastern Australia, and recently have been found making huge nest aggregations, with thousands of nests on trunks of trees, in south-eastern New South Wales.
Polistes japonicus is a eusocial paper wasp found in Japan. It was first described by Henri Louis Frédéric de Saussure in 1858. It is closely related to Polistes formosanus. This species lives in small colonies with few workers and a foundress queen. Nests of these wasps are sometimes used as a traditional medicine in Korea, China, and Japan.
Polistes dorsalis is a species of social wasps that can be found throughout various parts of North America. It is classified under the Vespidae within the genus of Polistes. Male Polistes dorsalis wasps can be distinguished from other Polistes species by their distinctly prominent median tubercle of sternum 7. Both sexes can also be recognized due to their v- shaped yellow markings on their head. They are distributed widely across North America and can be found in sheltered nests, typically closer to the ground. These wasps live in a dominance hierarchy in which the queen's role differs from that of ordinary workers. When threatened, these wasps can deliver moderately painful stings. Their venom might also be of human interest for their antimicrobial uses.
Polistes erythrocephalus is a species of paper wasp in the subfamily Polistinae of family Vespidae found in Central and South America. P. erythrocephalus is a eusocial wasp, meaning that it possesses both reproductive and non-reproductive castes. The cooperation between the two castes to raise young demonstrates the altruistic nature of these wasps. P. erythrocephalus exhibits a four-stage colony cycle, as do many other Polistes wasps. This species generally feeds on larvae, occasionally their own, and is preyed upon by species such as army ants.
1 2 3 4 5 Zara, Fernando, and Jose Balestieri. "Behavioural Catalogue of Polistes versicolor Olivier (Vespidae: Polistinae) Post-emergent Colonies." Naturalia 25 (2000): 301-19. Print.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Gobbi, Nivar, Fernando B. Noll, and Marcelo A. H. Penna. "‘Winter’ Aggregations, Colony Cycle, and Seasonal Phenotypic Change in the Paper Wasp Polistes versicolor in Subtropical Brazil." Naturwissenschaften 93.10 (2006): 487-94. Web.
1 2 3 Torres, RF, VO Torres, YR Suarez, and WF Antonialli-Junior. "Effect of the Habitat Alteration by Human Activity on Colony Productivity of the Social Wasp Polistes versicolor (Olivier) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)." Sociobiology 61.1 (2014): 100-06. Web.
1 2 3 4 5 6 De Oliveira, Simone, Mariana De Castro, and Fabio Prezoto. "Foundation Pattern, Productivity and Colony Success of the Paper Wasp, Polistes versicolor." The Journal of Insect Science 10 (2010): n. pag. Web.
1 2 3 González, J. A., F. S. Nascimento, and S. F. Gayubo. "Observations on the Winter Aggregates of Two Polistine Paper Wasps (Hymenoptera Vespidae Polistinae)." Tropical Zoology 15.1 (2002): 1-4. Web.
1 2 3 Esch, Harald. "Wagging Movements in the Wasp Polistes versicolor Vulgaris Bequaert." Zeitschrift für vergleichende Physiologie 72.3 (1971): 221-25. Web.
1 2 Kohler, Andreas. "Floral Preferences of the Polistine Wasp Polistes versicolor versicolor Olivier, 1792 (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Plostinae, Polistini) in Santa Cruz Do Sul, Southern Brazil." Biociencias 16.2 (2008): n. pag. Web.
1 2 Prezoto, Fábio, Helba H. Santos-Prezoto, Vera L.l. Machado, and José C. Zanuncio. "Prey Captured and Used in Polistes versicolor (Olivier) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) Nourishment." Neotropical Entomology 35.5 (2006): 707-09. Web.
↑ Araujo, Vinicius, Jane Moreira, and Jose Lino-Neto. "Morphology of the Male Reproductive System of the Social Wasp, Polistes versicolor versicolor, with Phylogenetic Implications." The Journal of Insect Science 10 (2010): n. pag. Web.
↑ Manzanilla, J., L. De Sousa, and D. Sanchez. "High Densities of Polistes versicolor versicolor (Oliver 1791) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) at Cerro La Laguna, Turimiquire Massif, Anzoátegui State, Venezuela." Boletín De Entomología Venezolana 15.2 (2000): 245-48. Web.
↑ De Souza, Andre, Silva, Newton and Prezoto, Fabio, "A rare but successful reproductive tactic in a social wasp (Hymenoptera:Vespidae): Use of heterospecific nests", "Revista Chilena de Historia Natural", 2012.
↑ Souza, A. R., and F. Prezoto. "Regulation of Worker Activity in the Social Wasp Polistes versicolor." Insectes Sociaux 59.2 (2012): 193-99. Web.
↑ Junior, Keize, Kimie Simokomaki, Caroline Gruber, and Marco Lama. "Sociogenetic Structure of Polistes (Aphanilopterus) versicolor Olivier, 1971 Colonies (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Polistini)." Genetics and Molecular Biology 33.4 (2010): 669-75. Web.
↑ Itô, Yosiaki. "Shifts of Females between Adjacent Nests Of Polistes versicolor (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in Panama." Insectes Sociaux 31.1 (1984): 103-11. Web.
↑ Britto, Fábio Barros, and Flávio Henrique Caetano. "Morphological Features and Occurrence of Degenerative Characteristics in the Hypopharyngeal Glands of the Paper Wasp Polistes versicolor (Olivier) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)." Micron 37.8 (2006): 742-47. Web.
↑ Prezoto, Fábio, Helba H. Santos-Prezoto, Vera L.l. Machado, and José C. Zanuncio. "Prey Captured and Used in Polistes versicolor (Olivier) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) Nourishment." Neotropical Entomology 35.5 (2006): 707-09. Web.
↑ Togni, Olga, and Edilberto Giannotti. "Nest Defense Behavior Against the Attack of Ants in Colonies of Pre-emergent Mischocyttarus Cerberus (Hymenoptera, Vespidae)." Acta Ethologica 11.2 (2008): 43-54. Web.
↑ Welsh, John H., and Carolyn S. Batty. "5-Hydroxytryptamine Content of Some Arthropod Venoms and Venom-containing Parts." Toxicon 1.4 (1963): 165-70. Web.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
