Synoeca septentrionalis

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Synoeca septentrionalis
Synoeca septentrionalis cropped.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Vespidae
Subfamily: Polistinae
Tribe: Epiponini
Genus: Synoeca
Species:
S. septentrionalis
Binomial name
Synoeca septentrionalis
(Richards, 1978) [1]

Synoeca septentrionalis is one of five species of wasps in the genus Synoeca . [1] It is a swarm-founding wasp that is also eusocial, [2] exhibiting complicated nest structure and defense mechanisms [3] and a colony cycle including a pre-emergence phase and a post-emergence phase. [4] It is typically found in areas from Central to South America. [3] This wasp is one of the larger species of paper wasps and exhibits multiple morphological adaptations as a result of this. [5] Synoeca septentrionalis is known for possessing a very painful sting. [6]

Contents

Taxonomy and phylogeny

Synoeca septentrionalis is one of five species of wasp in the genus Synoeca, with the other four being S. chalybea, S. cyanea, S. surinama, and S. virginea. [1] Wasps in the genus Synoeca are often referred to as warrior wasps and are found in various areas in the Americas. Each wasp in the genus exhibits similar characteristics, but from a phylogenetic standpoint, S. septentrionalis is most closely related to S. surinama and S. cyanea . The wasps in this genus are also a part of the paper wasp tribe known as Epiponini, which are Neotropical. [1] In general, the genus is quite aggressive [7] and will often display cohesive defense mechanisms when threatened. [8]

Description and identification

Synoeca septentrionalis exhibits a blackish or dark blue color and has a metallic-like appearance. [1] Their wings are also quite large and are entirely infuscate. [1] Their metasomal tergum (a portion of the abdomen) and sternum both exhibit erect hairs, and their clypeus is imprinted with an area that resembles a dark triangle. [1] Color patterns vary among the species; some exhibit a reddish color, while others are completely darkened. [9] Overall, they are a medium-sized wasp [1] with lengths of approximately 20 millimetres (0.79 in). [3]

They are considered to be paper wasps, as their nests are made out of paper. [2] Their nests will change as a colony grows. Typically, they will start as one comb within a ridged, domed envelope that also has a hole or holes where other lobes can be added as necessary. [3] Most nests have only two to three lobes, but nests with nine lobes that span over three meters have been reported. [3] Occasionally, some of the holes will be paired as two, and, combined, they have a perimeter of 10–12 centimetres (3.9–4.7 in). [3] Certain holes will remain open and act as entrances or exits for S. septentrionalis. [3]

Distribution and habitat

Synoeca septentrionalis is a Neotropical species found in Central and South America, especially in areas such as Costa Rica, [3] Panama, [1] Colombia, [1] Guatemala, [1] Mexico [1] and Venezuela. [1] Its distribution extends further north than others in the genus. [1]

These wasps often build their nests on trees, specifically flat against a tree trunk or a limb. [3] Nests have been seen between 1.70 and 6 meters above the ground. [3]

Colony cycle

As a swarm founding species, [2] S. septentrionalis travels and founds new colonies as a large group. [4] In S. septentrionalis, nest construction will begin when the swarm has all arrived at the potential construction site. [4] This marks the beginning of the pre-emergence phase. [4] Construction is typically done by a group of workers, and, by the time the nest is completed a few days later, eggs will have been laid in the cells by the queen. [4]

Roughly a week after the nest is complete, the first larvae begin to hatch, and these will become adults approximately 30 days after hatching, marking the end of the pre-emergence phase and the beginning of the post emergence phase. It is at this point when the emergence of workers is largely dependent on the necessity to produce reproductive females that will become queens. Because S. septentrionalis is a polygynous species, more than one queen will exist at a given time, and often the number of queens will fluctuate. When queen number is small, the ratio of queens to workers will be low and thus the queens will have difficulty suppressing reproduction in subordinate females, of which some will become additional queens. When queen number is high, the ratio of queen to workers is higher, and suppressing reproduction in subordinate females is easier. [4]

Normally, in wasps residing in a temperate climate, the nesting cycle and the colony cycle are one and the same, meaning that a colony will use one nest per reproductive episode. However, species such as S. septentrionalis primarily reside in a tropical climate, and this congruency is disrupted, as they may stay in the same nest for more than one reproductive cycle. As a result, they exhibit an "intermediate nesting cycle", in which the benefits of staying in the same nest for another colony cycle outweigh the costs of staying in the nest. [4]

Behavior

Movement between nest sites

Nest of Synoeca septentrionalis collected in Bahia. Synoeca septentrionalis.jpg
Nest of Synoeca septentrionalis collected in Bahia.

It has been seen that, when moving as a swarm between nests or to a new nest, S. septentrionalis will use various means of communication to facilitate group movement. [2] This is most often done through the use of pheromones. [2] When moving from an old to a new nest site, the wasps will rub glands located on or near their gasters on various spots between the nest sites. [2] These creates a trail of chemical pheromones between the two sites that the wasps are able to follow. [2] Along with this "gaster-rubbing," S. septentrionalis will often chew and lick leaves on the pathway between the two sites, [2] thus enhancing their methods of communication. Polybia sericea is another species that moves between nest sites using pheromones. [10]

Nest entrances and exits

S. septentrionalis is unique to the genus Synoeca in that its nests will typically contain two entrance or exit holes, whereas the nests of other species in the genus will usually only contain one hole. Within the nests, the wasps will often choose one hole as a preferred "entrance point" and another as a preferred "exit point" as opposed to entering either one at random. It is likely that determinations for which hole to use as an entrance or exit arise as a result of the behavioral patterns and the efficiency with which each individual hive operates. [3]

Adaptations relating to body size

The wasps within the family Vespidae exhibit a wide range of body sizes, and S. septentrionalis is one of the larger wasps within the family. As a result, they are able to generate a lift force that is able to maintain flight in the presence of their large muscle mass. In order for this to occur in the most efficient manner possible, these wasps have enlarged wings and veins that are distally extended. The elongated wings allow for flying that is more energetically efficient, in order to compensate for their large body size and muscle mass, while the distally-organized veins prevent bending of the wings, which would result in a loss of energy. [5]

Kin selection

Cyclical oligogyny

Synoeca septentrionalis exhibit a behavior that is known as "cyclical oligogyny," where there are varying numbers of queens per colony cycle. When the number of queens becomes low within a colony, they will signal to new females for them to try to become queens and repopulate the nest with queens. As evidence of this, it has been found that in most swarming colonies such as S. septentrionalis, the population of queens is bimodal with respect to age; some queens are very old while others are very young. [11]

Physiological differentiation

Because morphology differences cannot dictate caste differences in S. septentrionalis, due to morphological similarity, castes are determined by adult disputes as opposed to manipulation at the larval stage. In colonies with already-established queens, workers will display aggressive behavior in order to inhibit female ovary development. Females with limited ovary development exhibit stringed, filamentous ovaries that do not have a mature oocyte and cannot contain sperm. When workers are not preventing female development, they are raised in an orphanage-like manner where they are able to develop full ovaries with multiple oocytes that can maintain sperm. These are ultimately the females that are able to take a chance to become a queen. [11]

Interactions with other species

Predation

Synoeca septentrionalis is preyed upon by numerous species. This is largely because it resides at an elevation of 300 meters above sea level, a lower elevation than most paper wasps. [12] Specifically, army ants will regularly feed on them along with other species of paper wasps. [12] This prevalent predation has resulted in S. septentrionalis making numerous adaptations, some of which include forming a complex nest structure, choosing a nest-site that reduces exposure to predators, and establishing defensive mechanisms. [12] S. septentrionalis has also been known to defend against army ants by piling their bodies up against the nest entrance. [4] However, army ant predation can be extreme enough to regulate the density of a colony and keep populations of S. septentrionalis and other species of paper wasps regulated. [12]

Colony defense

The defensive behavior in S. septentrionalis often involves a large number of workers leaving the nest in order to display or attack with their stingers in response to a disturbance. Often, after the wasps leave the nest, they will display their gaster in such a way that it is perpendicular to the ground and the rest of their body; this behavior is defined as gaster-flagging. From a defensive standpoint, it is likely that gaster-flagging serves as a warning signal to predators that S. septentrionalis will engage in defensive stinging behavior if necessary. Likewise, gaster-flagging could potentially serve as a visual communication method between other members of the colony in order to mobilize them in the presence of a threat. [8]

Along with gaster-flagging, S. septentrionalis will warn the colony when it is disturbed by drumming the inside of the nest, creating a characteristic alarm sound. To make the sound, the wasps scrape their mandibles across the nest walls. This is a characteristic defensive mechanism that all species of the genus Synoeca exhibit. [8]

Commensalism with Montezuma oropendola

The Montezuma oropendola (Psarocolius montezuma) is a tropical bird that shares a similar distribution to S. septentrionalis. It has been observed that more of these birds will nest in trees that are tall, umbrella-shaped, and exhibit a presence of wasps, specifically S. septentrionalis. The wasps will utilize their defensive mechanisms and stings in order to deter both predators and ectoparasites. As a result, S. septentrionalis can exist in a commensalistic relationship with Montezuma oropendola. [13]

Human importance

Stings and venom

This wasp species has an incredibly painful sting. Out of a possible 4 points on the Starr sting pain scale S. septentrionalis received a 4, a rating attained by very few other species assayed. A 4/4 on this scale means that the sting is considered to be "traumatically painful" and often requires some medical attention. [6]

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.

<i>Synoeca</i> Genus of wasps

Synoeca is a genus of eusocial paper wasps found in the tropical forests of the Americas. Commonly known as warrior wasps or drumming wasps, they are known for their aggressive behavior, a threat display consisting of multiple insects guarding a nest beating their wings in a synchronized fashion, and an extremely painful sting. The sting is barbed and if used often kills the wasp, which may be the reason why such a striking defensive display is used. This display escalates from drumming inside the nest to hundreds of wasps moving on to the envelope of the nest and continuing to drum. If this does not deter the threat only then do the wasps begin to sting.

<i>Apoica pallens</i> Species of wasp

The Central American paper wasp is a nocturnal eusocial wasp. It is famous for its swarm based emigration behavior, and is native to the lowlands of Central and northern South America. This species has developed special night vision adaptations to facilitate their night-time swarming and foraging behavior and has important medicinal properties for the Pankararú people of Brazil.

Apoica flavissima is a paper wasp found primarily in South America. The species is distinguishable by its light coloring, unique single comb nests, and nocturnal nature. A notable feature of this species is the size dimorphism between queens and workers. Unlike most Vespidae wasps, Apocia flavissima queens are smaller than their worker counterparts which results in unique intraspecies relationships.

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

Brachygastra lecheguana, formerly known as Nectarina lecheguana, is a species of dark paper wasp found across North and South America. It nests in underbrush in grassland-type environments, and produces honey, characteristic of the genus Brachygastra.

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

Agelaia vicina is a species of wasp in the genus Agelaia. They are neotropical social wasps known to have the largest colony sizes and nest sizes among social wasps, with some colonies exceeding over one million individuals. They are predators of land arthropods, consuming both insects and spiders alike. Recent sperm morphology studies have shown that although Vespidae belong to the superfamily Vespoidea, A. vicina may be more phylogenetically related to Apoidea.

<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>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>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.

The African swarm-founding wasp, Polybioides tabidus, is a social paper wasp from the order Hymenoptera that is typically found in Central Africa. This wasp is unique in that it exhibits cyclical oligogyny, meaning queen number varies with colony cycle. After several generations of production of workers and future queens, a subset of many workers and queens leave the original colony to begin a new one. The new colony does not produce new queens until current queens from the old colony have died. P. tabidus has been observed to display both predator and scavenger behavior, depending on the food sources available.

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.

<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>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.

Brachygastra scutellaris, a honey wasp, is a Neotropical, swarm-founding species that is found in South America and has a medium-sized population of 100–1000 individuals per colony. It stores large amounts of nectar in its nest for the production of honey, and it was even found that at certain times of the year, the nectar is toxic to humans, as they will extract nectar from hallucinogenic plants, depending on the season.

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.

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

Polybia paulista is a species of eusocial wasp occurring in Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina.

<i>Parachartergus</i> Genus of wasps

Parachartergus is a genus of epiponine social wasps belonging to the subfamily Polistinae. Species include:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Andena, Sergio; Carpenter, James; Noll, Fernando (January 1, 2000). "A Phylogenetic Analysis of Synoeca de Saussure, 1852, A Neotropical Genus of Social Wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Epiponini)". Entomologica Americana. 115 (1): 81–89. doi:10.1664/07-RA-002R.1. S2CID   85860442.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Smith, Adam; O’Donnell, Sean; Jeanne, Robert (July 3, 2002). "Evolution of Swarm communication in Eusocial Wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)". Journal of Insect Behavior. 15 (6): 751–764. doi:10.1023/A:1021119322398. S2CID   19462645.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Starr, C.K. (December 13, 1988). "The Ins and Outs of a Tropical Social Wasp Nest". Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 91 (1): 26–28. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Ross, Kenneth; Matthews, Robert W. (1991). The Social Biology of Wasps. Nature. ISBN   978-0-8014-4188-2 . Retrieved 2014-10-16.
  5. 1 2 Garcia, Zioneth; Sarmiento, Carlos (November 17, 2011). "Relationship between body size and flying-related structures in Neotropical social wasps (Polistinae, Vespidae, Hymenoptera)". Zoomorphology. 131 (1): 25–35. doi:10.1007/s00435-011-0142-z. S2CID   18282115.
  6. 1 2 Starr, Christopher (May 30, 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.
  7. ↑ Hogue, Charles Leonard. Latin American Insects and Entomology. University of California Press, 1993. ISBN   0-520-07849-7
  8. 1 2 3 O’Donnell, Sean; Hunt, James; Jeanne, Robert (July 1997). "Gaster-Flagging during Colony defense in Neotropical Swarm-Founding Wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae, Epiponini)". Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society. 70 (3): 175–180. JSTOR   25085777.
  9. ↑ Menezes, RST; Andena, SR; Carvalho, AF; Costa, MA (December 3, 2011). "First records of Synoeca septentrionalis Richards, 1978 (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Epiponini) in the Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest". ZooKeys (151): 75–78. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.151.1882 . PMC   3286226 . PMID   22368453.
  10. ↑ Jeanne, Robert L. (1981). "Chemical Communication During Swarm Emigration in the Social Wasp Polybia Sericea". Animal Behaviour. 29: 102–113. doi:10.1016/s0003-3472(81)80157-1. S2CID   53194795.
  11. 1 2 Baio, Mario V; Noll, Fernando B; Zucchi, Ronaldo (May 13, 2003). "Shape differences rather than size differences between castes in the Neotropical swarm-founding wasp Metapolybia docilis (Hymenoptera: Vespidae, Epiponini)". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 3: 10. doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-3-10 . PMC   165425 . PMID   12744727.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Kumar, Anjali; Longino, John; Colwell, Robert; O’Donnell, Sean (May 2009). "Elevational Patterns of Diversity and Abundance of Eusocial Paper Wasps (Vespidae) in Costa Rica". Biotropica. 41 (3): 338–346. doi: 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2008.00483.x .
  13. ↑ Fraga, Rosendo (Summer 1989). "Colony Sizes and Nest Trees of Montezuma Oropendolas in Costa Rica (Tamanos de Colonia y Caracteristicas de los Arboles en donde Anida Psarocolius montezumae en Costa Rica)". Journal of Field Ornithology. 60 (3): 289–295. JSTOR   4513441.
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