Journal article
Nesting biology and social organisation of a silk wasp (Microstigmus rosae) from the North–West Ecuadorian Choco
- Abstract:
- Microstigmus Ducke (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Crabronidae, Pemphredoninae) is an intriguing genus of wasp, particularly interesting for the study of social evolution as it contains the only species of apoid wasps known to exhibit eusocial behaviours. Thus far, data concerning the genetics and biology of sociality in Microstigmus are restricted to just two species. Through behavioural observations and genetic analyses, we here present a detailed report on the nesting biology and social organisation of a third species, Microstigmus rosae. Our results indicate that M. rosae nests are founded by a single female and social groups appear when emerging female offspring remain on the natal nests as helpers. Adult females mass provision their offspring and developmental data are consistent with sequential brood production, an average egg laying interval of 10 days and a brood developmental period of more than 35 days. Social group formation is atypical, with 20% of nests containing up to a maximum of four adult females and two males. Adult group size is positively correlated with the number of brood in a nest, but negatively correlated with per capita brood. The sex investment ratio was female biased. Our findings support several theories concerning the behavioural characteristics thought to be important for transitions towards sociality, namely: high genetic relatedness generated by monogamous matrifilial associations, hygienic behaviour and the potential for direct reproduction. In contrast, one hypothesised trait, progressive provisioning, is notably absent, highlighting the need for investigations into the significance of post-provisioning parental care for offspring survival in this genus.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
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(Preview, Version of record, pdf, 1.5MB, Terms of use)
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- Publisher copy:
- 10.1007/s00040-023-00914-7
Authors
- Publisher:
- Springer Nature
- Journal:
- Insectes Sociaux More from this journal
- Volume:
- 70
- Issue:
- 2
- Pages:
- 167-179
- Publication date:
- 2023-05-25
- Acceptance date:
- 2023-04-21
- DOI:
- EISSN:
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1420-9098
- ISSN:
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0020-1812
- Language:
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English
- Keywords:
- Pubs id:
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1488833
- Local pid:
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pubs:1488833
- Deposit date:
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2023-06-29
Terms of use
- Copyright date:
- 2023
- Rights statement:
- © Crown 2023. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
- Licence:
- CC Attribution (CC BY)
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