Brachygastra lecheguana

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Brachygastra lecheguana
Brachygastra lecheguana 265111509.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: Brachygastra
Species:
B. lecheguana
Binomial name
Brachygastra lecheguana
(Latreille, 1824) [1]
Synonyms [1]
  • Vespa sericeaFabricius, 1804
  • Polistes lecheguanaLatreille, 1824
  • Brachygastra analis Perty, 1833
  • Vespa lecheguana(Latreille, 1824)
  • Brachygastra velutina Spinola, 1841
  • Melissaia lecheguana(Latreille, 1824)
  • Brachygastra aurulenta Erichson, 1848
  • Nectarinia binotata Saussure, 1854
  • Nectarinia analisSaussure, 1854
  • Nectarinia velutina(Erichson, 1848)
  • Chartergus sericeus(Fabricius, 1804)
  • Nectarinia sericeus(Fabricius, 1804)
  • Caba lecheguana(Latreille, 1824)
  • Caba analis(Saussure, 1854)
  • Caba binotata(Saussure, 1854)

Brachygastra lecheguana (Latreille 1824), formerly known as Nectarina lecheguana, [2] is a species of dark paper wasp [3] found across North and South America. [2] It nests in underbrush in grassland-type environments, and produces honey, characteristic of the genus Brachygastra . [2]

Contents

Names

Common names include marimbondo-do-campo, marimbondo-do-pasto, [4] marimbondo-exu, marimbondo-de-pote, marimbondo-de-purrão, and avispa-de-pote, [5] among others depending on the location.

It is called tu in the Kwaza language of Rondônia, Brazil. [6]

Taxonomy

B. lecheguana belongs to the Epiponini tribe of Polistinae wasps, [7] sometimes referred to as Polybiinae wasps. [2] [7] It is a Neotropical social wasp species that falls under the genus Brachygastra. [7]

Brachygastra wasps are identified, as noted in Andena and Carpenter (2012), by an anatomical projection over their posterior. The scutellum, metanotum, and propodeum, three of the hymenopteran back structures, combined form a flat, vertical surface in the middle of the body (mesosoma). [8]

B. lecheguana is very closely related to B. mellifica and B. borellii , [8] and indeed some authors suggest that B. lecheguana and B. mellifica can only be differentiated based on where they are found with respect to their reported distribution throughout the Americas. [2] However, there are morphological and genetic differences between these species. [8] [9] [10]

History of study

Brachygastra lecheguana was first described by Pierre André Latreille in 1824. [2] It was originally named Nectarina lecheguana, [2] and the switch from Nectarina to Brachygastra as a name for this genus was not standard in the scientific literature until the 1940s. [8] Between 1824 and 1943, this species was documented as a member of the following genera: Polistes , Vespa , Nectarinia (a misspelling of Nectarina, and a misuse of this genus of birds), Brachygaster (another misspelling, and a misuse of this genus of parasitic wasp), Melissaia, and Caba. [2] [8]

In 1923, Bequeart performed a survey of the literature on this species, compiling accounts and descriptions by entomologists Ferdinand de Saussure, Hermann von Ihering, and du Buysson among numerous others, creating a source of descriptive information on this species. [2] One study has focused on the morphological caste differentiation of B. lecheguana [11] and another directly studied its foraging behavior. [3] While not the focus, B. lecheguana has been included in studies of groups of wasps known to be natural enemies of agricultural pests, [12] [13] [14] and has been documented in a number of papers cataloging flower visitation by insects and birds. [15] [16]

Description and identification

A Brachygastra lecheguana on sand. Brachygastra lecheguana 346535784.jpg
A Brachygastra lecheguana on sand.

Bequaert provides a detailed description of the anatomy and features of B. lecheguana. [2] This species is black, with an abdomen colored with yellow stripes, having patches on the thorax and head colored yellow as well. [4] The abdomen is wide and truncate, [8] and nests are globular, [4] gray, and close to the ground. [2] Queens and workers were recorded to be ~7.5–9 mm long and males ranged from ~7.5–8 mm in length. [2] B. lecheguana can be differentiated from B. mellifica based on the male reproductive anatomy; in B. lecheguana the males have an apically wide digitus while that of B. mellifica males is relatively narrow. [8]

Distribution and habitat

B. lecheguana is found across North and South America, ranging from Mexico to Argentina. This species has been observed a couple times as far north as Texas and Arizona, but tends to be rare north of Mexico. [2]

Nests are oval, about the size of a human head, made of gray paper-like material, and close to the ground. [2] Bequeart includes a lengthy description of the construction process for one of these nests in his 1932 publication on Polybiinae wasps. [2] Nests are located in undergrowth, [4] and it appears that these wasps prefer more temperate locations characterized by open, less humid, grassland environments. [15] [17] [18]

Colony cycle

As a member of the polistine wasp tribe Epiponini, B. lecheguana is a swarm-founding species. [7] Their nests are polygynous, [7] with reproductively active females numbering anywhere from 1% [11] to possibly even 17% of a colony. [19] Reports of the total number of individuals in a given colony have been recorded by a couple different sources ranging from 13800 [11] to 15000, [2] although it appears that a limited number of colony counts are documented in the scientific literature. The male to female ratio was reported as 0 in a colony collected in May, [11] 1:15 in a colony collected in January, and 1:1 in a colony observed in the fall. [2]

Nests are recorded to be perennial, often lasting several years. [2] New colonies are formed in the spring when several fertile queens, accompanied by a few worker wasps in a swarm, establish new nest sites. [2]

Caste differences

In a study that characterized the morphological difference between different castes in B. lecheguana, researchers used ovary development to classify individuals as workers, queens, or "intermediates". Workers had either undeveloped or slightly developed ovaries, and constituted around 39% of the study's pool of individuals, while queens, with well developed ovaries containing 6-12 oocytes, accounted for around 0.7% of the individuals. A third group, with moderately developed ovaries containing 1-5 oocytes, was identified as an intermediate caste and accounted for around 60.3% of the colony. While the ovaries belonging to queen individuals had evidence of insemination, there was no detectable sperm in the reproductive organs of the intermediate individuals. [11]

Anecdotal accounts of B. lecheguana nests suggest that queens are larger than workers. [2] However it appears that a more careful statistical analysis indicates that there is no overall size difference between queens, workers, or intermediates. [11] There is no difference in overall size, but the queens have a set of anatomical proportions distinct from the intermediates and workers, smaller in some structures and larger in others. [11]

While it appears that caste might be discernible through ovary development, [11] the absence of morphological differences between individuals in B. lecheguana suggests that there is no meaningful morphological caste. [7] However it is clear that individuals can be designated reproductives and nonreproductives. [7]

Mimicry

Bequaert describes the extensive color and shape similarities between B. lecheguana and a number of other species with the word "homeochromic" instead of "mimic". He lists a number of vespid wasps and potter wasps belonging to the genera Pachodynerus , Odynerus , and Ancistrocerus , and several crabronid wasps of the genera Gorytes and Cerceris . Along with wasps, there are several bee species that are homeochromic, including mason bees of the genera Megachile , Anthidiellum , Hypanthidium , Dianthidium , and the species Stelis costaricensis , cuckoo bees belonging to the genus Epeolus , stingless Trigona bees, and sweat bees from the genus Halictus . He also lists a soldier fly of the genus Stratiomys as a homeochromic species. [2]

While B. lecheguana, Bequaert suggests, is the most abundant in this group of homeochromic species, he does not make the claim that these similarities arose from mimicry in the classic sense, but he suggests that further research would be helpful. [2]

Diet

Nectar

Similar to B. malifolia, the plant Prunus africana has extrafloral nectaries. B. lecheguana is known to visit the nectaries on B. malifolia and to compete with ants for the resource. Prunus africana nectaries.jpg
Similar to B. malifolia , the plant Prunus africana has extrafloral nectaries. B. lecheguana is known to visit the nectaries on B. malifolia and to compete with ants for the resource.

B. lecheguana is known to visit a number of plants to obtain nectar resources. [3] This wasp has been documented visiting the flowers of Baccharis spp., [20] Erythrina crista-galli , [21] Ziziphus cotinifolia , Solanum paniculatum , Sidastrum paniculatum , and Erythroxylon catingae [15] and more. [2] In addition to obtaining nectar from flowers, B. lecheguana has been reported as a visitor of extrafloral nectaries on such species as Banisteriopsis malifolia . [3]

Predation

This wasp does not rely solely on nectar for food; it is a well-documented predator of a number of different arthropod species. [22] Among its prey are beetles of the genus Anthonomus [3] [22] and the coffee leaf miner Leucoptera coffeella . [13] It is known to forage on a number of plant species including Eugenia uniflora fruits, [23] Banisteriopsis malifolia , [3] and several agriculturally relevant plants. [14] [24] [25]

Species interactions

Competition

This species has been documented to compete for food resources with several other animal species. [3] [14] B. lecheguana competes with the ant species Camponotus blandus for the plant Banisteriopsis maliflora , and, consequently, the wasp is typically found on ant-free plants and has been known to interrupt its foraging when an ant approaches. [3] This supports the hypothesis that B. lecheguana is in a mutualistic relationship with the plant B. maliflora , since the plant supplies nectar reserves to the wasp, and the wasp preys on herbivorous insect larvae living on the plant. [3]

Another study suggests that B. lecheguana may also compete with parasitoids for coffee leaf miner larvae in an agricultural setting. [14]

Pollination

Baccharis dracunculifolia is a species of Baccharis from Brazil. B. lecheguana is known to pollinate various members of this genus. Flickr - Joao de Deus Medeiros - Baccharis dracunculifolia.jpg
Baccharis dracunculifolia is a species of Baccharis from Brazil. B. lecheguana is known to pollinate various members of this genus.

Although this wasp visits a diverse collection of flowering plants, [2] it is only reported as a pollinator in a limited number of instances. B. lecheguana is documented as a pollinator of Baccharis spp. [20] Additionally, as an alien species to the Galápagos Islands, there have been reports that catalog B. lecheguana as an important pollinator on the island of Santa Cruz. [16]

Parasites

The limited information on this species documents very few instances of parasitism, although it is unlikely that this wasp is free from parasites. One report suggests that B. lecheguana is subject to parasitism by Strepsiptera. [2]

Predators

B. lecheguana is a prey target for a number of animals. [26] The lizard Tupinambis teguixin is known to prey on this wasp, having easy access to its nests since they are low to the ground and easily accessible. [2] A number of birds are suspected to prey on B. lecheguana, although there are relatively few documentations of this in the literature. [2] [5] Also, the army ant Eciton dulcius is reported to prey on this wasp. [26] Another source of predation is by asilids, or robber flies. [2]

Human interactions

Agriculture

Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate pesticide that has been shown to have high mortality in several biological pest control species such as B. lecheguana. Chlorpyrifos.svg
Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate pesticide that has been shown to have high mortality in several biological pest control species such as B. lecheguana.

B. lecheguana is a known natural enemy of the coffee leaf miner Leucoptera coffeella , along with several other species of wasp including Polistes versicolor , Polybia paulista , [27] Polybia occidentalis , [13] Polybia scutellaris , and Protonectarina sylveirae . [14] B. lecheguana are often used as biological controls in coffee plantations in order to prevent the proliferation of the devastating leaf miner. [12] In order to test the effect pesticides have on the environment and to test the efficacy of using pesticides in conjunction with natural predators, the effect that several pesticides have on the health of B. lecheguana and other wasps was assayed. [12] This wasp species is found to be highly susceptible to chlorpyrifos and other organophosphate pesticides. [12] Even at half the recommended dosage of a number of these pesticides, the wasp was found to have nearly 100% mortality. [13]

In addition to coffee plantations, wasps have also been documented to forage in cashew farms [24] and inhabit eucalyptus plantations [25] where it may play a role in pest control.

Stings and aggressiveness

The aggressiveness of this wasp is disputed. [2] [4] [5] While some report that the wasp is rather unaggressive even when disturbed, [2] others warn of its aggressive behavior towards human victims. [4] [5] Having a moderately painful sting, [28] B. lecheguana uses an autotomous stinging strategy, employing a barbed stinger specialized for venom delivery and release of the stinger in the sting site. [29]

Honey

Some sources indicate that the honey from the B. lecheguana hives is harvested regularly and consumed. [2] In certain parts of Mexico, it appears that B. lecheguana is maintained in a state of semi-domestication. [5] It is warned, however, that the honey can also be poisonous. [5] The toxicity of the honey is a result of the wasp collecting nectar during the Datura blooming season. [2]

Medicine

Ethnoentomologists and anthropologists have documented use of B. lecheguana as a medical treatment in certain communities. [30] Some of the communities eat both the honey and the larvae of the wasp, [5] while others use the adult wasps themselves. [30] It appears that the honey has been used to treat coughing or asthma in the Pankararé and Matinha communities in Brazil. [30] The wasp itself has been used in the Serrinha area to treat pain associated with their stings. [30]

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>Brachygastra</i> Genus of wasps

Honey wasps are species in the genus Brachygastra of the family Vespidae. Brachygastra comprises 17 species of social paper wasps. The ancestral species are thought to have diverged about 32 million years ago within diverse Amazonian rainforest. Subsequent speciation within the genus is thought to have mostly occurred between 23 Ma and 10 Ma, during the time of the Andean uplift when the landscape was significantly altered due to tectonic activity. The current cladistic organisation of the genus has been heavily reliant on morphological characteristics.

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

Brachygastra mellifica, commonly known as the Mexican honey wasp, is a neotropical social wasp. It can be found in North America. B. mellifica is one of few wasp species that produces honey. It is also considered a delicacy in some cultures in Mexico. This wasp species is of use to humans because it can be used to control pest species and to pollinate avocados.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mass provisioning</span>

Mass provisioning is a form of parental investment in which an adult insect, most commonly a hymenopteran such as a bee or wasp, stocks all the food for each of her offspring in a small chamber before she lays the egg. This behavior is common in both solitary and eusocial bees, though essentially absent in eusocial wasps.

<i>Dolichovespula sylvestris</i> Species of wasp

The tree wasp is a species of eusocial wasp in the family Vespidae, found in the temperate regions of Eurasia, particularly in western Europe. Despite being called the tree wasp, it builds both aerial and underground paper nests, and can be found in rural and urban habitats. D. sylvestris is a medium-sized wasp that has yellow and black stripes and a black dot in the center of its clypeus. It is most common to see this wasp between May and September during its 3.5 month colony cycle.

<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>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>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.

<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.

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>Mischocyttarus mexicanus cubicola</i> Subspecies of wasp

Mischocyttarus mexicanus cubicola is a neotropical subspecies of paper wasp found in the New World. It is a social wasp that demonstrates two different types of nesting strategies, depending upon context. This context-dependent trait makes Mischocyttarus mexicanus cubicola a good model to study social biology within social wasps. In detail, this trait allows for the females of this species to form nests both individually and as co-founders with other females within the same colony. This subspecies is also known to exhibit cannibalism, with M. m. cubicola queens feeding on their own larvae for nourishment when unaided by workers.

<i>Parachartergus</i> Genus of wasps

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

References

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  23. ↑ Souza, G. K.; Pikart, T. G.; Jacques, G. C.; Castro, A. A.; DeSouza, M. M.; Serrão, J. E. & Zanuncio, J. C. (2013). "Social wasps on Eugenia uniflora Linnaeus (Myrtaceae) plants in an urban area". Sociobiology. 60 (2): 204-209.
  24. 1 2 Santos, G. M. D. M. & Presley, S. J. (2010). "Niche overlap and temporal activity patterns of social wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in a Brazilian cashew orchard". Archived 6 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine Sociobiology. 56 (1): 121-131.
  25. 1 2 De Souza, A. R.; Venancio, D. F. A.; Zanuncio, J. C. & Prezoto, F. (2011). "Sampling methods for assessing social wasps species diversity in a Eucalyptus plantation". Journal of Economic Entomology. 104 (3): 1120-1123.
  26. 1 2 Jeanne, R.L. (1975). "The adaptiveness of social wasp nest architecture". Quarterly Review of Biology. 50 (3): 267-287.
  27. ↑ Scalon, J. D.; Avelar, M. B. L.; Alves, G. F. & Zacarias, M. S. (2011). "Spatial and temporal dynamics of coffee-leaf-miner and predatory wasps in organic coffee field in formation". Ciencia Rural, Santa Maria. 41 (4): 646-652.
  28. ↑ Starr, C. K. (1985). "A simple pain scale for field comparison of Hymenopteran Stings". Journal of Entomological Science. 20 (2): 225-232.
  29. ↑ Shorter, J. R. & Rueppell, O. (2012). "A review on self-destructive defense behaviors in social insects". Insectes Sociaux. 59: 1-10.
  30. 1 2 3 4 Costa Neto, E. M. (2002). "The use of insects in folk medicine in the state of Bahia, Northeastern Brazil, with notes on insects reported elsewhere in Brazilian folk medicine". Human Ecology. 30 (2): 245-263.
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