Polybia rejecta

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Polybia rejecta
Polybia rejecta.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Vespidae
Subfamily: Polistinae
Genus: Polybia
Species:
P. rejecta
Binomial name
Polybia rejecta
(Fabricius, 1798)
Synonyms [1]

Polybia belizensisCameron, 1906
Polybia bicolorSmith, 1857
Polybia javaryensisCameron, 1906
Polybia litoralsisZavattari, 1905

Contents

Polybia rejecta is a species of social wasp found in the Neotropics region of the world. It was discovered by Fabricius in South America in the 1790s. [1] The wasp is associated with many other organisms, particularly specific species of ants and birds such as the Azteca ants and the cacique birds. [2] [3] This association is most beneficial to the ants and birds because of the aggressive protective nature of the wasp. The wasps will protect their nest even if it means death against any predator that approaches it and therefore this means that the association also protects the ants and birds. [3] Additionally, the wasp is known for eating the eggs of red eyed tree frogs as a main way of subsistence. [4] It also, like many other wasp species, has a caste system of queens and workers that is evident by difference in body size among the wasps; the biggest female becomes the queen. [5]

Taxonomy and phylogeny

Polybia rejecta is a social wasp in the genus Polybia , which is composed of eusocial wasps in South America, particularly Brazil and Argentina. The eusocial characteristics seen in this wasp species are the presence of cooperative brood care, division of labor between non-reproductive and reproductive individuals, and overlapping of generations in the colony. Polybia comprises over eighty other wasp species. It was discovered by Fabricius in 1798 in South America. [1] This species is part of the family Eumenidae, otherwise known as potter wasps. These wasps tend to build their nests underground or in the open. The name "potter nest" comes from the shape of the mud nests built by these types of wasps.

Distribution

The wasp Polybia rejecta is predominantly found in Costa Rica and Panama. It has also been found in areas of Peru and scattered regions along the oceanic border of Brazil. [1] The typical climate that P. rejecta occupies in the Atlantic forest of Brazil is hot and humid. There are two distinct seasons, one being hot/humid and the other being dry/cool. In general, this area gets precipitation of 1350 to 1900 mm a year with the altitude ranging between 236 and 515 meters. [2] Polybia rejecta has been found in the vicinity of a species of frogs called A. callidryas in the Brazilian Amazon region. [4] This association is also present with specific ant species. Both of these species use the wasp's aggressive tendencies as protection against predators. [3]

Description and habitat

Polybia rejecta has an almost completely black body that separates itself due to its sting autotomy. [6] It has a small rounded head with short antennae, thin body and thin wings. [7] The distribution of the wasp is very dependent on the location of water bodies. Many aquatic macrophytes are important foraging targets for the wasps. The species is generally found in association with Azteca andreae and nests of various bird species. [8] In general the reason for the nests being near the ant is that it can provide protection against army ants. Nests for these wasps have been found on several plant species. Each comb is covered by an envelope and succeeding combs are built on the already made envelopes. [7]

Colony cycle

The pace and timing of the colony cycle varies greatly with the climate and biotic factors. [9] Additionally the colonies will generally gravitate towards previously established nests. This nesting association is a characteristic that is unique to P. rejecta. By nesting in such high densities, nesting must be great enough to offset the increased competition for food. [10] Polybia rejecta produces its males in February to April. Otherwise not much is known about the colony cycle of the social wasps. [9]

Nesting near Azteca chartifex

Azteca chartifex is a species of ant commonly associated with P. rejecta colonies. This association was studied in the Parque Estadual do Rio Doce, where twelve colonies of P. rejecta were observed. [2] The wasps tend to build their nests in a 10-20 centimeter proximity to the ants' home. The wasps' nests tend to be smaller than the ones away from the ants' colony, and of a similar coloring to the ants. This makes it hard to differentiate the wasps' nests from the ants'. All of the twelve nests found and observed were associated with the Azteca chartifex, meaning that there must be some kind of benefit for both the wasps and the ants. It was concluded that the wasp's aggressive behavior likely protects the ants from any mammalian, bird or snake predators that try to approach the nest. The protection that the wasp can offer from predators, especially mammalian predators, can help preserve the ant colony's numbers as well as preserve the ant's nest. Regardless of the wasp's aggressive behavior, there was no aggression between the ants and wasps, meaning that this coexistence must also benefit the wasp colony with additional protection from predators. [2]

The first published description about this interaction between P. rejecta and A. chartifex was from William D. Hamilton, and may be found in the Chapter 8 (Volume 1) of the book Narrow Roads of Gene Land (1996, Freeman Spektrum).

Queens vs workers

Polybia rejecta queens are significantly larger than workers. Among this group the castes can be noticed by simply looking at the size of the queens versus the workers as determined by using the Wilk's Lambda range. [8] There are two possibilities behind why this significant difference in size occurs among the wasps. The first is the ovarian condition of the wasp. The workers have less developed ovaries than the queen's; therefore, it is possible that this lack of development results in a smaller body size for the workers. In accordance, the second reasoning is that, in some workers, the ovaries can be fully developed; however, the eggs are not completely developed. This would also be related to the decrease in size for the workers. Finally, the workers are likely smaller, so the queen can exert her dominance over them. The queen is the sole reproductive individual in the colony. This means the distinction in body size is a result of the individual being reproductively capable or non-reproductive. [8] These morphological differences and caste differentiation are also seen in the species Polybia sericea . [5]

Ovarian development

There are three types of ovarian development seen among P. rejecta. The first type is when one ovary has one filamentous ovariole but no visible oocytes or very small oocytes. An ovariole is one of the tubes of the ovaries of a wasp and the oocytes are what will potentially become eggs. This means that this first type of wasp is not capable of reproducing. A second type contains one ovariole with some young underdeveloped oocytes. This type of wasp is also non-reproductive, meaning that the workers will have one of these types of ovarian development. The third type is that of the queen and is well developed with very long ovarioles The ovarioles are coiled inside a gaster with at least one mature egg. The queens are the only females that are inseminated. This difference in ovary size is also seen in the wasp species Chartergus mentanotalis , Epipona tatua , and Polybia liliacea . [8]

Egg predation of red eyed tree frogs

The red eyed tree frog hatches its eggs early as a result of egg predation by P. rejecta. The vegetation that frogs attach their eggs to typically hangs over a water source, making them susceptible to attack by arboreal and aerial predators. P. rejecta are known for their predation of soft bodied arthropods, especially lepidopteran larvae and anuran embryos. In fact, this predation is a primary subsistence method for the wasps. The wasps will attack generally about half of the egg clutches they find, killing almost a quarter of the eggs in clutches in the process. In order to counteract the attacks made by P. rejecta the frog embryos hatch earlier, up to three times as early compared to embryos that are not likely to be attacked. Once the embryos hatch, all of the frogs are able to escape, making this a successful adaption by the frogs to prevent predation by P. rejecta. Additionally, the wasps primarily attack only living eggs. If the wasp encounters a clutch with dead embryos, it rejects the carrion and moves on to find clutches with living eggs. The wasp has also been found to attack other frog eggs of the species A. saltator in Costa Rica. [4]

Method of egg predation

The wasps will attack and remove the embryos from a clutch one at a time. The amount and type of damage on the embryo is highly dependent on how easily eggs detach from the clutch, as well as the development of the embryo. When the wasp attacks the egg, it grasps the individual egg with its mouth and simply pull. After it pulls out the egg, the wasp will then work on getting the embryo out of the egg. If the embryo is more developed and able to struggle, the wasp will drag the embryo around the leaf and bite it. This is in an attempt to subdue and further damage the embryo. However, with younger embryos the wasp is generally able to break the yolk and extract a part of the embryo. The wasp will sometimes immediately consume the yolk and other times only carry a part of the tissue from the embryo, leaving the yolk behind. If the embryo was more developed the wasp will sometimes leave body parts of the embryo behind as it transports tissue to its colony. P. rejecta will typically do this with many eggs in a clutch in order to try to gain as much food as possible. [4]

Birds and Polybia rejecta

The cacique birds in Central Brazilian Amazon have been found to associate their nests with those of P. rejecta. The birds take advantage of the wasps through protection against potential predators. The social wasps defend their nests by inflicting painful stings and bites onto whatever predator is attacking them. These associations between the wasps and birds occur in most areas of the Neotropics; however, little is known about the benefit for the wasps from the relationship. Therefore, the relationship is defined as commensalism because the bird is clearly benefitting from the protective nature of the wasp while the wasp is neither benefited nor harmed as a result of the presence of the bird. Another interesting aspect of the relationship is that the wasps do not show any aggressive behavior towards the birds. This is uncommon, since in most cases any animal that gets into a certain distance of the wasp nest is immediately attacked. However, there is no aggressive behavior towards the cacique birds or their nests by the wasps. [3]

Wren nests and P. rejecta

Wrens are another bird that associate with P. rejecta wasps in order to gain protection against predators. In an experiment conducted by Frank Joyce, it was found that wrens whose nests were near relocated wasps were significantly more likely to fledge young than were wrens whose nests had no wasp nests placed near them. With wrens, predation is the primary cause of nest failure; in particularly they are attacked by white faced monkeys. In an attempt to avoid predators many birds will build their nests in inconspicuous or inaccessible places, but this is not always a successful method of protection. Joyce moved the wasp nests to areas that were common to wrens. There was a significant increase in the success rate of fledging after the association with which occurs as a result of the presence of wasps. When the monkeys attempted to attack the bird nests, the wasps would in turn attack the monkeys because they were too close to the wasp nest. [11]

Human interaction

Stinging is the most important defensive tactic for Polybia rejecta. The wasp is very aggressive, especially when a human comes into a specific vicinity of the colony. The wasps will fly about five meters around the colony and will sting if a human gets any closer. [11] This attack occurs with very little provocation by the human and also happens with other animals. Simply approaching the nest will generally elicit an attack. [3] This sting is painful, but is not considered traumatic on the pain scale. Generally there are no serious health risks associated with the sting. [12]

Sting autotomy

Polybia rejecta participates in a self-destructive defensive behavior called sting autotomy. There are three different types of suicidal defense behaviors termed: instantaneous defense, preemptive defense and altruistic self-removal. Sting autotomy is the self-amputation of the stinger and poison sac by the wasp. Instantaneous defense leads to death of the wasp when it interacts with a predator. Preemptive defense is the assumption that anything approaching the nest is a threat. Altruistic self-removal is the defense by the workers in order to protect their queen even if that means death. This is the self-amputation of the stinger and the poison sac of the wasp.

Polybia rejecta is an aggressive wasp that is very protective over its nests. As previously noted many species of birds and ants will use this aggressive behavior to their advantage by nesting near Polybia rejecta nests. In sting autotomy the stinger remains in whatever individual has been stung. The stinger is severed from the distal end of the defender's abdomen. It is important to note that because of this behavior Polybia rejecta has a body structure that allows its muscles to easily tear from the internal structures. Wasps that do not display this type of autotomy have abdominal muscles that prevent this bodily separation from occurring. [6]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Brachygastra lecheguana</i> Species of wasp

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<i>Polybia occidentalis</i> Species of wasp

Polybia occidentalis, commonly known as camoati, is a swarm-founding advanced eusocial wasp. Swarm-founding means that a swarm of these wasps find a nesting site and build the nest together. This species can be found in Central and South America. P. occidentalis preys on nectar, insects, and carbohydrate sources, while birds and ants prey on and parasitize them. P. occidentalis workers bite each other to communicate the time to start working.

<i>Polistes bellicosus</i> Species of insect

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<i>Polistes canadensis</i> Species of wasp

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<i>Synoeca cyanea</i> Species of wasp

Synoeca cyanea, commonly known as the marimbondo-tatu in Brazil, is a swarm-founding eusocial wasp. Native to Brazil and Argentina, S. cyanea is one of the largest and most aggressive species of social wasps and is feared in many rural areas. It begins its colony cycle in the early spring and continues until nest abandonment. Throughout its life, S. cyanea forage sugary substances and animal carcasses for food and wood pulp for its nest. S. cyanea is also known for its strong venom, which is enough to cause haemolytic activity.

<i>Protonectarina</i> Genus of wasps

Protonectarina sylveirae, commonly referred to as the Brazilian wasp, is a neotropical swarm-founding wasp species that ranges widely across South America. This species relies heavily on the consumption of animal protein rather than nectar. P. sylveirae preys heavily on agricultural pests to coffee crops, keeping pest populations low.

<i>Leipomeles dorsata</i> Species of wasp

Leipomeles dorsata is a neotropical paper wasp that is found across Central America and northern South America. It is a eusocial wasp with little differentiation between reproducing and non-reproducing females. In fact, workers can become temporary reproductives if the main reproductives are killed, allowing reproduction to continue until the main reproductive population recovers. The colony cycles through different ratios of main reproductive females and subordinate reproductive females, starting with few or no primary reproducing females, and increasing until there are only main reproductives.

Protopolybia exigua is a species of vespid wasp found in South America and Southern Brazil. These neotropical wasps, of the tribe Epiponini, form large colonies with multiple queens per colony. P. exigua are small wasps that find nourishment from nectar and prey on arthropods. Their nests are disc-shaped and hang from the undersides of leaves and tree branches. This particular species of wasp can be hard to study because they frequently abandon their nests. P. exigua continuously seek refuge from phorid fly attacks and thus often flee infested nests to build new ones. The wasps' most common predators are ants and the parasitoid phorid flies from the Phoridae family.

<i>Polybia sericea</i> Species of wasp

Polybia sericea is a social, tropical wasp of the family Vespidae that can be found in South America. It founds its colonies by swarming migrations, and feeds on nectar and arthropods.

Polybioides raphigastra is a species of social wasp found in the forests of South East Asia and Indonesia. It has recently been placed in the tribe Ropalidiini. This species is known for the downward-spiraling shape of their nests, and for having colony sizes exceeding ten thousand members.

<i>Polybia emaciata</i> Species of wasp

Polybia emaciata is a Neotropical swarm founding wasp that is mainly found in South America. This eusocial species has a unique colony structure in which multiple queens are present. Workers and queens are not morphologically distinct, but the high amount of relatedness maintained in the colony ensures that workers police each other. Polybia emaciata relies on a diet of liquid nectars which is supplemented with prey insects, particularly flies. It is well known for being one of only three wasp species in the genus Polybia that uses mud as the primary material for building its nest. Polybia emaciata is one of the least aggressive wasp species in the genus Polybia, and is known for its distinctive defensive behavior.

<i>Ropalidia romandi</i> Species of wasp

Ropalidia romandi, also known as the yellow brown paper wasp or the yellow paper wasp. is a species of paper wasp found in Northern and Eastern Australia. R. romandi is a swarm-founding wasp, and manages perennial nests. Its nests are known as 'paper bag nests' and have different architectural structures, depending on the substrates from which they are built. The specific name honors Gustave, baron de Romand, a prominent French political figure and amateur entomologist.

<i>Synoeca surinama</i> Species of wasp

Synoeca surinama is a Neotropical swarm-founding wasp of the tribe Epiponini. It is known for its metallic blue and black appearance and painful sting. S. surinama builds nests on tree trunks and can be found in tropical climates of South America. When preparing to swarm, there are a number of pre-swarming behaviors that members of S. surinama colonies partake in, such as buzzing runs and occasional brood cannibalism. In S. surinama, social environmental conditions determine the caste ranks of individuals in the developing brood. Unlike less primitive Hymenoptera species, S. surinama display little morphological variation between egg laying queens and workers. S. surinama wasps visit flowering plants and are considered pollinators. When these wasps sting, the stinger is left in the victim and the wasp ultimately dies.

Parachartergus fraternus is a neotropical, swarm founding, polistine wasp species that is distributed throughout Central and South America. They live in nests in second growth tropical dry forests, near pasture fields, roadside areas, and urban areas as well. These wasps eat insects, such as caterpillars of Lepidoptera. They also drink nectar, honeydew, and water. The workers capture their prey during foraging. They also use venom to paralyze their prey in order to consume it later. P. fraternus wasps are not very aggressive and they do not attack when the nest is approached.

<i>Synoeca septentrionalis</i> Species of stinging wasp

Synoeca septentrionalis is one of five species of wasps in the genus Synoeca. It is a swarm-founding wasp that is also eusocial, exhibiting complicated nest structure and defense mechanisms and a colony cycle including a pre-emergence phase and a post-emergence phase. It is typically found in areas from Central to South America. This wasp is one of the larger species of paper wasps and exhibits multiple morphological adaptations as a result of this. Synoeca septentrionalis is known for possessing a very painful sting.

<i>Liostenogaster vechti</i> Species of wasp

Liostenogaster vechti is a type of eusocial hover wasp within the family Vespidae. They are typically brown and yellow in color and are considered a passive aggressive species. Their stings are less painful to humans than other social wasps, and they engage in associative nest foundation. They are mostly found on the Malaysian peninsula and are known for living in large clusters of small ring-shaped nests.

<i>Agelaia multipicta</i> Species of wasp

Agelaia multipicta is a swarm-founding, highly eusocial wasp that lives in Mexico, Argentina, Trinidad and southern Brazil. It nests in natural cavities such as hollow trees and aggressively defends the nest from ants, who are brood predators. The workers and queens are morphologically distinguished by ovarian development as well as external features such as a larger petiole and gaster in the queen. Like other carrion-eating (necrophagous) wasp species, A. multipicta plays a scavenging role in the ecosystem. Agelaia multipicta was described by the Irish entomologist Alexander Henry Haliday in 1836.

Parachartergus colobopterus is an epiponine social wasp belonging to the subfamily Polistinae. This species can be found through Central and South America and is unique because its colonies contain multiple queens. However, relatedness among nest mates remains relatively high as a result of cyclical oligogyny, which is a system where the number of queens varies over time. Because workers and queens do not demonstrate any significant morphological differentiation, individuals of this species are totipotent, capable of differentiation into any caste, because caste is not genetically determined. Relatedness and conflict therefore play a major role in determining the dominance hierarchy and behavioral patterns of this wasp species, especially the behavior of worker policing. Another unique characteristic of this wasp is that it is generally a docile species: when the nest is continuously provoked, the colony members will leave the nest instead of mounting an attack.

Protopolybia chartergoides, also known as Pseudochartergus chartergoides, is a species of wasp within the genus Protopolybia. It is a social wasp found in southern Central America and northern South America.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "The Global Biodiversity Information Facility: GBIF Backbone Taxonomy". 2013-07-01.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. 1 2 3 4 Souza, Marcos (2013). "Nidification of Polybia rejecta associated to Azteca chartifex in a fragment of Atlantic forest, in the state of Minas". Biota Neotropica. doi: 10.1590/S1676-06032013000300038 .
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Somavilla, Alexandre (2013). "Association among wasps' colonies, ants and birds in Central Amazonian". Biota Neotrop. 13 (2): 308–313. doi: 10.1590/s1676-06032013000200031 .
  4. 1 2 3 4 Warkentin, Karen (2000). "Wasp predation and wasp induced hatching of red eyed treefrog eggs". Animal Behaviour. 60 (4): 503–510. doi:10.1006/anbe.2000.1508. PMID   11032653. S2CID   26087699.
  5. 1 2 Desuó, I.C. (2011). "An Adaptive View of Caste Differentiation in the Neotropical Wasp Polybia (Trichothorax) sericea Olivier (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)". Neotropical Entomology. 40 (6): 653–660. doi: 10.1590/s1519-566x2011000600004 . hdl: 11449/26723 . PMID   23939271.
  6. 1 2 Shorter, JR (2012). "A Review on Self Destructive Behaviors in Social Insects" (PDF). Insectes Sociaux. doi:10.1007/s00040-011-0210-x. S2CID   13257903.
  7. 1 2 Carpenter, James (2000). "Polybia, Paraphyly, and Polistine Phylogeny". American Museum Novitates (3298): 1–24. doi:10.1206/0003-0082(2000)298<0001:PPAPP>2.0.CO;2. S2CID   55207447.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Silveira, Orlando (2008). "Social wasps of two wetland ecosystems in Brazilian Amazonia". Acta Amazonica. doi: 10.1590/S0044-59672008000200018 .
  9. 1 2 Ross, Kenneth (1991). "The Social Biology of Wasps". Cornell University Press.
  10. ↑ Perry, Donald (2000). "Factors Influencing Arboreal Epiphytic Phytosociology in Central America". Biotropica. 10 (3): 235–237. doi:10.2307/2387910. JSTOR   2387910.
  11. 1 2 Joyce, Frank (1993). "Nesting success of rufous napped wrens is greater near wasp nests". Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 32 (2): 71–77. doi:10.1007/bf00164038. S2CID   32276330.
  12. ↑ Starr, Christopher (1985). "A Simple Pain Scale for Field Comparison of Hymenopteran Stings". Journal of Entomological Science. 20 (2): 225–232. doi:10.18474/0749-8004-20.2.225.
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