Polistes Wasps

Bonavita-Cougourdan, A., Theraulaz, G., Bagneres, A.-G., Roux, M., Pratte, M Provost, E. and Clement J.-L. (1991). Cuticular hydrocarbons, social organization and ovarian development in a Polistes wasp Polistes dominulus Christ. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. B, 100, 667-680. 

Dani, F., Morgan, E.D. and Turillazzi, S. (1996b). Dufour gland secretion of Polistes wasps chemical composition and possible involvement in nestmate recognition (Hymenoptera Vespidae)../. Insect Physiol., 42, 541-548. 

Dapporto, L., Santini, A., Dani, F.R. and Turillazzi, S. (2007b). Workers of a Polistes wasp detect the presence of their queen by chemical cues. Chem. Senses, 32, 795-802. 

Vespidae. Al though the role of CHCs as recognition cues has been intensively studied in a dozen Polistes wasp species (Bonavita-Cougourdan et al., 1991 Lorenzi et al., 1996, 1997 Bagneres et al., 1996a Dani, 2006), as well as in the Vespula wasp (Butts et al., 1993), chemotaxonomy based on venom volatile chemical profiles was reported recently (Bruschini et al., 2007). There is currently no review paper comparing CHCs from the different social wasps studied. 

Bruschini, C Cervo, R Dani, F.R. and Turillazzi, S. (2007). Can venom volatile be a taxonomic tool for Polistes wasps (Hymenoptera, Vespidae) J. Zool. Syst. Evol. Res., 45, 202-205. 

The authors performed RAST inhibition to measure the relative potencies of the different venom extracts using the patient s serum as a source of IgE anti-venom. Although they initially suspected the new source of Polistes wasp venom, the relative potency tests showed greater variation in the honeybee venom. The IgG concentrations were consistent with this finding. This report emphasizes the care that must be taken with the preparation of each injection, especially when using a new batch of antigen. 

Workers are often cited as the source of nestmate or kin recognition cues (e.g., [115]). Many GC analysis studies have shown that the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles are different between nestmates and non-nestmates. However, only recently have specific hydrocarbons, 7-methylnonacosane 73,11-methyl-nonacosane 74, (llZ)-nonacos-ll-ene 75, (llZ)-hentriacont-ll-ene 76, and (9Z)-nonacos-9-ene 77, been shown to mediate nestmate recognition in the paper wasp, Polistes dominulus [116]. 

The venoms of many kinds of bees, wasps, and hornets (the genera Vespa, Polistes, Vespula, Ropalidia, etc.) contain biogenic amines such as histamine (136), serotonin (141), and catecholamines in addition to polyamines such as putrescine (111), spermidine (110), and spermine (112) (Table VIII). The biogenic amines in the venoms act as the main pain-producing principles 46). The contents of these amines in the venom may affect the severity of pain production, edematous reaction of the skin, or increase in skin permeability by stings of these insects. Consequently these amines act as toxins for their defense, together with acetylcholine, enzymes, and peptides 47). 

Panek L. M., Gamboa G. J. and Espelie K. E. (2001) The effect of a wasp s age on its cuticular hydrocarbon profile and its tolerance by nestmate and non-nestmate conspecifics (Polistes fuscatus, Hymenoptera Vespidae). Ethology 107, 55-63. 

Sledge M. F., Boscaro F. and Turillazzi S. (2001) Cuticular hydrocarbons and reproductive status in the social wasp Polistes dominulus. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 49, 401 -09. 

Pfennig, D.W., Gamboa, G.J., Reeve, H.K., Shellman-Reeve, J. S. and Ferguson I.D. (1983). The mechanism of nestmate discrimination in social wasps (Polistes, Hymenoptera Vespidae). Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol., 13,299-305. 

Turillazzi, S. and Pelosi, P. (2003). Soluble proteins of chemical communication in the social wasp Polistes dominulus. Cell. Mol. Life Sci., 60, 1933-1943. 

The differential importance of alkenes, and linear and methyl-branched alkanes in the nestmate recognition system of the paper wasp Polistes dominulus was tested using... 

Espelie, K.E. and Hermann, H.R. (1990). Surface lipids of the social wasp Polistes annularis (L.) and its nest and nest pedicel../. Chem. Ecol., 16, 1841-1852. 

Sledge, M.F., Dani, F.R., Cervo, R., Dapporto, L. and Turillazzi, S. (2001). Recognition of social parasites as nest-mates adoption of colony-specific host cuticular odours by the paper wasp parasite Polistes sulcifer. Proc. R. Soc. B, 268, 2253-2260. 

Starks, P.T., Fischer, D. J., Watson, R.E., Melikian, G.L. and Nath, S.D. (1998). Context-dependent nestmate discrimination in the paper wasp, Polistes dominulus a critical test of the optimal acceptance threshold model. Anim. Behav., 56, 449—158. 

Small paper wasp colonies, as in Polistes dominulus, have the advantage that egg replacement can be easily tracked due to their location in a cell of the comb (Liebig et al., 2005). Replacement of eggs can be identified when an individual lays an egg in a cell in which another individual has already laid an egg. When these cells were controlled later, usually only a single egg was found. 

These similarities are not restricted to ants. So far only one study has looked at the similarities between cuticular and egg profile in wasps. Polistes dominulus eggs contain the same compounds as the cuticle of the adults with only slight proportional differences (Dapporto et al., 2007a). Egg profiles of foundresses ranking at the top of the hierarchy were clearly separated from the egg profiles of lower-ranked individuals. 

Dapporto, L., Lambardi, D. and Turillazzi, S. (2008). Not only cuticular lipids First evidence of differences between foundresses and their daughters in polar substances in the paper wasp Polistes dominulus. J. Insect Physiol., 54, 89-95. 

Dapporto, L., Theodora, P Spacchini, C., Pieraccini, G. and Turillazzi, S. (2004). Rank and epicuticular hydrocarbons in different populations of the paper wasp Polistes dominulus (Christ) (Hymenoptera, Vespidae). Insect. Soc., 51, 279-286. 

Layton, J.M., Camann, M.A. and Espelie, K.E. (1994). Cuticular lipid profiles of queens, workers, and males of social wasp Polistes metricus Say are colony-specific. 

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