Sex attraction in <i>Polistes dominulus</i> (Christ) demonstrated using olfactometers and morphological source extracts
Keywords:
attractant, pheromone, Polistes dominulus, paper waspAbstract
Y-tube and parallel tube olfactometers were used to test for attraction between and within genders of the European paper wasp, Polistes dominulus (Christ). In the Y-tube olfactometer, umnated females were attracted to male odour, while males were repelled by umnated female odour. Males and females were not attracted to the odour of the same sex in this experiment. In the parallel tube olfactometer, females were attracted to male odour, while males were not attracted to female odour. Morphological sources of potential sex attractants were tested using an arena bioassay design. Males rubbed their mandibles and gaster on the substrate when exposed to extracts of umnated female or male tagmata, female or male legs, or the male seventh gastral sternite. We did not see overt behavioural responses by females to male or female extracts.References
Batra, S. W. 1980. Sexual behaviour and pheromones of the European hornet, Vespa crabro germana (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 53:461-469.
Beani, L., and C. Calloni. 1991a. Leg tegumental glands and male rubbing behaviour at leks in Polistes dommulus (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Journal of Insect Behaviour 4:449-462.
Beani, L., and C. Calloni. 1991b. Male rubbing behaviour and the hypothesis of pheromonal release in polistine wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Ethology Ecology and Evolution (Special Issue) 1:51-54.
Beani, L., and S. Turillazzi. 1988. Alternative mating tactics in males of Polistes dommulus (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology 22:257-264.
Beani, L., R. Cervo, M. C. Lorenzi, and S. Turillazzi. 1992. Landmark-based mating systems in four Polistes species (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 65:211-217.
Bohart, G. E. 1942. Notes on some feeding and hibernation habits of California Polistes. Pan-Pacific Entomologist 18:30.
Bruschini, C., R. Cervo, and S. Turillazzi. 2006. Evidence of alarm pheromones in the venom of Polistes dommulus workers (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Physiological Entomology 31: 286-293.
Downing, H. A., D. C. Post, and R. L. Jeanne. 1985. Morphology of sterr1al glands in male polistine wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Insectes Sociaux 32:186-198.
Fraenkel, G. S., and D. L. Gunn. 1940. The Orientation of Animals: Kineses, Taxes and Compass Reactions. Oxford University Press, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Freisling, J. 1943. Zur Psychologie derFe1dwespe. Z. T ierpsychol. 5:439-463.
Gibo, D. L. 1980. Overwintering of Polistesfuscatus in Canada: use of abandoned nests of Dolichovespula arenaria. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 88: 146-150.
Hermann, H. R., D. Gerling, and T. Dirks. 1974. Hibernation and mating activity of five polistine wasp species. Journal of the Georgia Entomological Society 9:203-204.
Jeanne, R. L. 1996. The evolution of exocrine gland function in wasps, pp. 144-159, in S. Turillazzi and M. J. West-Eberhard (eds.). Natural History and Evolution of Paper-Wasps. Oxford University Press, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Jeanne, R. L., H. A. Downing, and D. C. Post. 1983. Morphology and function of sternal glands in polistine wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Zoomorphology. 103:149-164.
Keeping, M. G., D. Lipschitz, and R. M. Crewe. 1986. Chemical mate recognition and release of male sexual behaviour in polybiine wasp, Belonogaster petiolata Degeer (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Journal of Chemical Ecology 12:773-779.
Landolt, P. J ., and R. D. Akre. 1979. Occurrence and location of exocrine glands in some social Vespidae (Hymenoptera). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 33:45-57.
Landolt, P. J ., R. W. Hofstetter, and P. S. Chapman. 1998. Neonate codling moth larvae (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) orient anemotactically to odor of immature apple fruit. Pan Pacific Entomologist 74: 140-149.
Landolt, P. J., R. L. Jeanne, and H. C. Reed. 1998. Chemical communication in social wasps, pp. 216-235, in R.K. Vander Meer, M.D. Breed, M.L. Winston, and K.E. Espelie (eds.). Chemical Communication in Social Insects. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado.
Litte, M. 1979. Mischocyttarus flavitarsis in Arizona: social and nesting biology of a polistine wasp. Zeitschiift fur Tierpsychologie 50:282-312.
Litte, M. 1981. Social biology of the polistine wasp Mischocyttarus labiatus: survival in a Columbian rain forest. Smithsonian Contributions in Zoology No. 327.
Mathes-Sears, W., and J. Alcock. 1986. Hilltopping behaviour of Polistes commanchus navajoe (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Ethology 71: 42-53.
Noonan, K. M. 1978. Sex ratio of parental investment in colonies of the social wasp Polistes fuscatus. Science 199:1354-1356.
Ono, M., and M. Sasaki. 1987. Sex pheromones and their cross-activities in six Japanese sympatric species of the genus Vespa. Insectes Sociaux 34:252-260.
Polak, M. 1993. Competition for landmark territories among male Polistes canadensis (L.) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae): large-size advantage and alternative mate-acquisition tactics. Behavioural Ecology 4:325-331.
Post, D. C., and R. L. Jeanne. 1983a. Venom: Source of a sex pheromone in the social wasp Polistes fuscatus (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Journal of Chemical Ecology 9:259-266.
Post, D. C., and R. L. Jeanne. 1983b. Male reproductive behaviour of the social wasp Polistes fuscatus (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Zeitschrift fur Tierpsychologie 62:157-171.
Post, D. C., and R. L. Jeanne. 1983c. Sternal glands in males of six species of Polistes (Fuscopolistes) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 56:32-39.
Post, D. C., and R. L. Jeanne. 1984. Venom as an interspecific sex pheromone and species recognition by a cuticular pheromone in paper wasps (Polistes Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Physiological Entomology 9:6575.
Rau, P. 1930. The behaviour of hibernating Polistes wasps. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 23:461-466.
Rau, P. 1938. Studies in the ecology and behaviour of Polistes wasps. Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society 33:224-235.
Reed, H. C., and P. J. Landolt. 1990a. Sex attraction in paper wasp, Polistes exclamans Viereck (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), in a wind tunnel. Journal of Chemical Ecology 16:1277-1287.
Reed, H. C., and P. J. Landolt. 1990b. Queens of the southern yellowjacket Vespula squamosa, produce sex attractant (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Florida Entomologist 73:687-689.
Reed, H. C., and P. J. Landolt. 1991. Swarrning of paper wasp (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) sexuals at towers in Florida. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 84:628-635.
Shorey, H. H. 1977. Interactions of insects with their chemical environments, pp. 1-5, in H. H. Shorey and J. J. McKelvey (eds.). Chemical Control of Insect Behaviour: Theory and Application. WileyInterscience, New York, New York.
Starks, P. T. 2003. Natal nest discrimination in the paper wasp, Polistes dommulus. AnI1ales Zoologici Fennici 40: 53-60.
Strassmann, J. E. 1979. Honey caches help female paper wasp (P. annularis) survive Texas winters. Science 204:207-209.
Tobin, T. R., G. Seelinger, and W. J. Bell. 1981. Behavioral responses of Periplaneta americana to periplanone B, a synthetic component of the female sex pheromone. Journal of Chemical Ecology 7: 969-979.
Wenzel, J. W. 1987 . Male reproductive behaviour and mandibular glands in Polistes major (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Insectes Sociaux 34:44-57.
Wilson, E. O. 1971. The Insect Societies. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Wyatt, T. D. 2003. Pheromones and Animal Behaviour: Communication by Smell and Taste. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Zar, J. H. 1974. Biostatistical Analysis. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood, New Jersey.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with the Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia agree to the following terms:
-Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
-Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
-Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
