Ropalidia fasciata

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Ropalidia fasciata
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Vespidae
Subfamily: Polistinae
Tribe: Ropalidiini
Genus: Ropalidia
Species:
R. fasciata
Binomial name
Ropalidia fasciata
(Fabricius, 1804)
Synonyms

Icaria intermedia, Cameron, 1905 Icaria maculifrons, Cameron, 1903 Icaria picta, de Saussure, 1853 [1]

Contents

Ropalidia fasciata, a common paper wasp, is a wide-ranging species that is distributed from India to the Lesser Sunda Islands, Palawan, and Ryukyu Islands, [2] occupying the northern edge of Ropalidia's larger distribution. [3] These primitively eusocial wasps are unique in that they do not exhibit the strict matrifilial, single-queen social structure found in many species of social insects. Instead, colonies are founded based on associations between several females, or 'foundresses'. [4]

Taxonomy and phylogeny

Ropalidia fasciata belongs to one of the largest wasp taxa.[ which? ] Roughly 180 other species belong to the genus Ropalidia . [2] In discussion, R. fasciata is often grouped with and compared to Ropalidia marginata . [4] R. fasciata was classified by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1804. [1]

Description and identification

R. fasciata appears with a red-brown body with yellow stripes, and some black and yellow markings. The species are variable in color pattern, displaying the black markings to various degrees. [2] Queen-like and worker-like individuals are not morphologically distinguishable, but instead are differentiated based on behavior. [4]

Distribution and habitat

R. fasciata is distributed consistently throughout grasslands within its range, mainly inhabiting fields that are invaded by the sugarcane Miscanthus sinensis . The wasps prefer to build nests under the leaves of this plant. [5]

Colony cycle

Colonies are founded in the spring, most often by associations of multiple females. Females that hatched early the year before are referred to as 'foundresses', as they can choose to go on to found a new colony. R. fasciata have an annual, relatively long colony cycle that begins in April and continues into November or December. The first group to emerge from the nest in the spring are females who quickly adopt forager or fighter roles in the colony. Potential foundresses and males emerge later in the summer. Males are commonly found in both established and newly founded nests, a quality specific to tropical eusocial wasps. Unlike many species of temperate wasps, females do not attack these individuals. [6] Foundress survival rate from April until September can be as low as 1.4%, indicating that most foundresses die before the end of the season. However, nest densities are quite stable from year to year due to the species' flexible reproductive habits and persistence in nest maintenance and rebuilding. The qualities of R. fasciata's colony cycle are very similar to that of other primitively eusocial wasps. [7]

Behavior

Dominance hierarchy

Colonies have multiple founding females who cooperate and perform different roles. Although dominant behavior is not especially clear as in other social insects, a queen-like individual is determined for the colony. She spends most of her time at the nest and consistently takes an alarm posture when an enemy approaches, guiding the rest of the colony's behavior. This individual can be said to be more dominant than the rest, and the other foundresses take on worker-like roles. [3] Unlike species of related wasps of the genera Polistes and Mischocyttarus , this queen-like individual does not show obvious aggression or acts of dominance toward others in the nest. Even when actions that are considered dominant in other species are performed, the receiving individual does not adopt a submissive posture. Instead, the individual ignores her and continues its previous activity. [4]

Division of labor

The genus Ropalidia has a standard colony structure where individuals are divided into three castes: sitters, fighters, and foragers. Sitters and fighters leave the food-finding to the foragers, while they care for larvae and maintain the nest. Foragers generally have poorly developed ovaries, while both fighters and sitters are, in theory, capable of reproduction. [8] Yosiaki Ito, an expert on the wasps, purposefully does not refer to the resident individuals of R. fasciata as ‘workers’ since early-emerging individuals may be able to found their own nests or to produce female progeny at their current nest. Considerable variability and opportunity for reproduction exists for many individuals within the colony. This is in contrast to the strategies of many social insects, where caste has a large morphological component and only one reproductive female is maintained. The very flexible colony structure of R. fasciata may be an adaptation to variable environmental conditions, as nests are often destroyed by typhoons, ant predation, and parasites. [4]

Reproductive suppression

Reproductive suppression does not appear to be a major part of R. fasciata’s strategy. 'First brood' females (females that emerge first in a season) have the option to found their own colony, lay eggs, or work for their natal colony. [5] Multiple egg laying females contribute to a colony, and interactions between these females appear to be mild. [6] It has been suggested that through a subtle dominance hierarchy among foundresses, the queen-like individual can suppress the oviposition of others, but observers have recorded little aggression of dominant or suppressive behavior to support this. [4]

Reproductive behavior

All species within the subfamily Polistinae, including R. fasciata, are understood to be eusocial. The insects fall into two categories: monogynous, with a single female reproductive, and polygynous, with several. In R. fasciata, monogyny is said to be facultative. Subordinate females' reproductive capacity is only partially inhibited biologically or behaviorally suppressed. [7] First brood females emerge and mate before overwintering. [6] Males emerge in late May and attempt matings with workers and foundresses. It is unknown if the foundresses monopolize reproduction, and this is an important question as it defines the function of the caste system of this species. [3] Nests are reconstructed and eggs are laid in March. [5]

Kin selection

A complication in the typical explanation of eusocial insects exists for R. fasciata. Since multiple females remain reproductive in a group, the colony must function less like a cooperative organism and a higher degree of reproductive competition is expected. Intercolony relatedness is expected to be reduced in these wasps. [3]

Nesting

Ropalidia fasciata and related species construct nests by collecting fibers from dead vegetation, mixing them with saliva, and using this mixture to construct vertical cells. The resulting material has a paper-like structure, hence their common name, the paper wasp. [9] R. fasciata often builds additional satellite nests as alternatives to the nest where the colony resides. That way if the main nest is destroyed, damaged, or threatened, at least some of the group can move to another nest. Occasionally, groups may relocate to a new nest without obvious cause. The immature wasps in the colony are moved to the new location by adults. Both foundresses and their progeny will help reconstruct a nest. R. fasciata foundresses do not disperse far from their natal nests, and foundresses of the same nest are often sisters. [5] In this species, it has been shown that if many females collaborate to found a nest, it will grow faster and have a higher survival rate than one with fewer foundresses. [4]

Food sharing

Individuals in a colony habitually share food with one another. One wasp will transfer nectar or water by mouth to another wasp by regurgitation. This behavior takes place between individuals who have not received any food recently, and the touching of mouthparts will occur even when there is no food to be transferred. Liquid food sharing between individuals typically reinforces the dominance hierarchy in similar species of wasp, but in R. fasciata this behavior appears to be a simple nutrition sharing technique or even a greeting, unrelated to dominance. [4]

Interactions with other species

R. fasciata nests are often predated upon by various species of ants, which attack immature R. fasciata individuals and can have a severe impact on nest survival. An ichneumonid parasite Arthula formosana commonly parasitizes R. fasciata nests. The frequency of parasitism has been shown to increase during the summer months. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polistinae</span> Subfamily of insects

The Polistinae is a subfamily of eusocial wasps belonging to the family Vespidae. They are closely related to the wasps and true hornets of the subfamily Vespinae, containing four tribes. With about 1,100 species total, it is the second-most diverse subfamily within the Vespidae, and while most species are tropical or subtropical, they include some of the most frequently encountered large wasps in temperate regions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European paper wasp</span> Species of wasp

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.

Spatial organization can be observed when components of an abiotic or biological group are arranged non-randomly in space. Abiotic patterns, such as the ripple formations in sand dunes or the oscillating wave patterns of the Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction emerge after thousands of particles interact millions of times. On the other hand, individuals in biological groups may be arranged non-randomly due to selfish behavior, dominance interactions, or cooperative behavior. W. D. Hamilton (1971) proposed that in a non-related "herd" of animals, the spatial organization is likely a result of the selfish interests of individuals trying to acquire food or avoid predation. On the other hand, spatial arrangements have also been observed among highly related members of eusocial groups, suggesting that the arrangement of individuals may provide advantages for the group.

<i>Ropalidia marginata</i> Species of insect

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.

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

Polistes chinensis is a polistine vespid wasp in the cosmopolitan genus Polistes, and is commonly known as the Asian, Chinese or Japanese paper wasp. It is found in East Asia, in particular China and Japan. The subspecies P. chinensis antennalis is an invasive species in New Zealand, having arrived in 1979.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

<i>Belonogaster juncea</i> Species of wasp

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.

Belonogaster juncea juncea is a subspecies of Belonogaster juncea and is classified as a primitively eusocial wasp, meaning that the species is social while exhibiting a morphology that is indistinguishable from that of other castes. It is also classified as a type of African Paper Wasp. Many of the studies relating specifically to B. j. juncea take place at the University of Yaoundé in Cameroon.

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

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.

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

Agelaia pallipes is a species of social paper wasp found from Costa Rica to Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. A. pallipes is ground-nesting and is one of the most aggressive wasps in South America. This species is a predator of other insects, including flies, moths, and ground crickets, as well as baby birds.

<i>Belonogaster petiolata</i> Species of wasp

Belonogaster petiolata is a species of primitively eusocial wasp that dwells in southern Africa, in temperate or subhumid climate zones. This wasp species has a strong presence in South Africa and has also been seen in northern Johannesburg. Many colonies can be found in caves. The Sterkfontein Caves in South Africa, for example, contain large populations of B. petiolata.

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

Ropalidia revolutionalis, the stick-nest brown paper wasp, is a diurnal social wasp of the family Vespidae. They are known for the distinctive combs they make for their nests, and they have been found in Queensland, Australia in the areas of Brisbane and Townsville. They are an independent founding wasp species, and they build new nests each spring. They can be helpful because they control insect pests in gardens.

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.

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

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.

<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>Polistes dorsalis</i> Species of wasp

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.

<i>Mischocyttarus mexicanus</i> Species of wasp

Mischocyttarus mexicanus is a New World species of paper wasp that exhibits facultative eusocial behavior and includes at least two subspecies living in the southern United States and Central America. This social wasp species is a good model for studying the selective advantage of different nesting tactics within a single species. M. mexicanus females can form nests both as individuals and as members of a colony, and are even known to switch between these two nesting strategies throughout their life, which is an unusual phenomenon in the field of social biology. Individuals in a colony have particular social roles that are plastic, as opposed to rigid castes, and brood parasitism and usurpation have been observed between unrelated conspecifics. They nest in a variety of types of plants and human constructions, although they have most frequently been observed in palm trees, and they are known to interact with a number of other species as prey, competitors over resources, or foragers.

References

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