Journal article
Caste-Associated Cuticular Chemistry Variation in the Paper Wasp Mischocyttarus pallidipectus
Journal of insect behavior, v 38(2), 24
29 Aug 2025
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Cuticular chemistry variation communicates several types of information about individuals in insect colonies, including caste membership. Independent-founding eusocial paper wasps are useful models for testing hypotheses about the associations of cuticular chemical variation with social roles because caste status can be partly decoupled from reproductive physiology: there is typically a single egg-laying female (queen) in each colony, but several females with ovary development can co-occur with the queen in mature worker-producing colonies. We asked whether the relative concentrations of non-polar cuticular compounds were most reliably associated with individuals’ ovary development (representing putative fertility cues) or with queen status (representing putative caste cues) in the paper wasp
Mischocyttarus pallidipectus
. In this Neotropical species several females with ovary development can occupy nests with a single laying queen, along with additional females with undeveloped (filamentous) ovaries. Discriminant function analyses of individuals differences in cuticular chemistry suggested a set of seven variable compounds predicted female caste membership (queen versus non-queen); cuticular chemistry variation was more strongly associated with the queen/non-queen distinction than with ovary status (females with developed versus filamentous ovaries). Colony identity was partly predicted by cuticular chemistry, and most of the significant colony-discriminating cuticular compounds were distinct from the significant caste-discriminating compounds. We discuss the implications of these findings for possible mechanisms of queen/non-queen differences in cuticular chemistry.
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Details
- Title
- Caste-Associated Cuticular Chemistry Variation in the Paper Wasp Mischocyttarus pallidipectus
- Creators
- Katherine Fiocca - Stanford UniversityJohanna Batterton - Haverford CollegeHelen K. White - Haverford CollegeSean O’Donnell - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- Journal of insect behavior, v 38(2), 24
- Publisher
- Springer Nature; NEW YORK
- Number of pages
- 11
- Grant note
- American Philosophical Society's Lewis and Clark Fund Grant (KF)Drexel University iSTAR Costa Rica program (SOD)
This work was funded by the American Philosophical Society's Lewis and Clark Fund Grant (KF) and the Drexel University iSTAR Costa Rica program (SOD).
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science (BEES); Biology
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001560322800002
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-105014871515
- Other Identifier
- 991022084855804721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Entomology