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opennotspecifiedNov 2020View details →

FIGURES 17–25 in Eusocial wasp fauna of Sulawesi Island, the central island of Wallacea (Hymenoptera: Vespidae; Polistinae, Vespinae)

FIGURES 17–25. ♀ of Ropalidiini species. 17–18. Parapolybia varia. 19. Ropalidia mathematica. 20–21. R. marginata. 22. R. pilosa. 23. R. impetuosa. 24. R. plebeja. 25. R. celebensis. 17, 19–20, 22–24. Habitus, lateral view. 18. Head, frontal view. 21. Posterior part of mesosoma and T1, dorsal view, an arrow indicates paired basal carina of propodeum. 25. Head, mesosoma and T1, lateral view.

opennotspecifiedNov 2020View details →

FIGURES 7–16 in Eusocial wasp fauna of Sulawesi Island, the central island of Wallacea (Hymenoptera: Vespidae; Polistinae, Vespinae)

FIGURES 7–16. ♀ of Polistes species. 7–8. P. tenebricosus. 9–10. P. sagittarius. 11–12, 15. P. celebensis. 13–14, 16. P. stigma. 7, 9, 12, 14. Head, frontal view, an arrow in 7 and 9 indicates anterior tentorial pit. 8. First two metasomal segments, lateral view, an arrow indicates basal angle of S1. 10, 11, 13. Habitus, lateral view, 15–16. Hind tarsal claws. Scale line 1 mm.

opennotspecifiedNov 2020View details →

FIGURES 1–6 in Eusocial wasp fauna of Sulawesi Island, the central island of Wallacea (Hymenoptera: Vespidae; Polistinae, Vespinae)

FIGURES 1–6. ♀ of Vespa species. 1. V. tropica. 2–3. V. velutina. 4. V. affinis. 5–6. V. fervida. 1–5. Metasoma (1, 3–5. Lateral view, 2. Dorsal view). 6. Head, frontal view, arrows indicate apical teeth.

opencc-zeroJan 2021View details →

Data from: Polyandry and paternity affect disease resistance in eusocial wasps

One of several hypotheses proposed to explain polyandry in eusocial insects is the parasite–pathogen hypothesis (PPH), in which a colony of workers with multiple patrilines due to queen polyandry is less likely to fall victim to a parasite or pathogen threat because of genetic variability of the colony's workforce. We challenged colonies with different strains of an entomopathogenic fungus to determine pathogen virulence and worker survival. We found that workers from different patrilines differed in their survival following the pathogen challenge, supporting the hypothesis that a major benefit of multiple mating by queen wasps is in disease resistance for the benefit of the colony. We infected isolated workers with the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana and quantified their survival in the laboratory. We used five fungal strains (A–E) of B. bassiana for experiment 1, and then selected the two most lethal strains (A and C) for experiment 2. We used nine microsatellite markers to determine patriline membership, we analyzed microsatellite genotypes using the software Colony v2.0.6.5 (Wang 2004).

opencc-zeroDec 2014View details →

Data from: Social control of reproduction and breeding monopolization in the eusocial snapping shrimp Synalpheus elizabethae

Understanding why individuals within altruistic societies forego reproduction to raise others' offspring has fascinated scientists since Darwin. Although worker polymorphism is thought to have evolved only in sterile workers, worker subcastes appear to be common among social invertebrates and vertebrates. We asked whether sterility accompanies eusociality and morphological differentiation in snapping shrimps (Synalpheus) - the only known marine eusocial group. We show that workers in S. elizabethae are reproductively totipotent, and that female — but not male — gonadal development and mating are mediated by the presence of a queen, apparently without physical aggression. In queenless experimental colonies, a single immature female worker typically became ovigerous, and no female workers matured in colonies with a resident queen. Thus, eusocial shrimp workers retain reproductive totipotency despite signs of morphological specialization. The failure of most female workers to mature is instead facultative and mediated by the presence of the queen, ensuring her reproductive monopoly.

opencc-zeroDec 2015View details →

Data from: The evolution of heat shock protein sequences, cis-regulatory elements, and expression profiles in the eusocial Hymenoptera

Background: The eusocial Hymenoptera have radiated across a wide range of thermal environments, exposing them to significant physiological stressors. We reconstructed the evolutionary history of three families of Heat Shock Proteins (Hsp90, Hsp70, Hsp40), the primary molecular chaperones protecting against thermal damage, across 12 Hymenopteran species and four other insect orders. We also predicted and tested for thermal inducibility of eight Hsps from the presence of cis-regulatory heat shock elements (HSEs). We tested whether Hsp induction patterns in ants were associated with different thermal environments. Results: We found evidence for duplications, losses, and cis-regulatory changes in two of the three gene families. One member of the Hsp90 gene family, hsp83, duplicated basally in the Hymenoptera, with shifts in HSE motifs in the novel copy. Both copies were retained in bees, but ants retained only the novel HSE copy. For Hsp70, Hymenoptera lack the primary heat-inducible orthologue from Drosophila melanogaster and instead induce the cognate form, hsc70-4, which also underwent an early duplication. Episodic diversifying selection was detected along the branch predating the duplication of hsc70-4 and continued along one of the paralogue branches after duplication. Four out of eight Hsp genes were heat-inducible and matched the predictions based on presence of conserved HSEs. For the inducible homologues, the more thermally tolerant species, Pogonomyrmex barbatus, had greater Hsp basal expression and induction in response to heat stress than did the less thermally tolerant species, Aphaenogaster picea. Furthermore, there was no trade-off between basal expression and induction. Conclusions: Our results highlight the unique evolutionary history of Hsps in eusocial Hymenoptera, which has been shaped by gains, losses, and changes in cis-regulation. Ants, and most likely other Hymenoptera, utilize lineage-specific heat inducible Hsps, whose expression patterns are associated with adaptive variation in thermal tolerance between two ant species. Collectively, our analyses suggest that Hsp sequence and expression patterns may reflect the forces of selection acting on thermal tolerance in ants and other social Hymenoptera.

opencc-zeroDec 2010View details →

Data from: Nest inheritance is the missing source of direct fitness in a primitively eusocial insect

Animals that co-operate with non-relatives represent a challenge to inclusive fitness theory, unless co-operative behavior is shown to provide direct fitness benefits. Inheritance of breeding resources could provide such benefits, but this route to co-operation has been little investigated in the social insects. We show that nest inheritance can explain the presence of unrelated helpers in a classic social insect model, the primitively eusocial wasp Polistes dominulus. We found that subordinate helpers produced more direct offspring than lone breeders, some while still subordinate but most after inheriting the dominant position. Thus, while indirect fitness obtained through helping relatives has been the dominant paradigm for understanding eusociality in insects, direct fitness is vital to explain co-operation in P. dominulus.

opencc-zeroDec 2014View details →

Data from: Phenological, but not social, variation associated with climate differences in a eusocial sweat bee, Halictus ligatus, nesting in southern Ontario

Studies of annual and geographic variation in eusocial bee populations suggest that more stringent environmental conditions result in stronger reproductive skew favouring queens, while moderate conditions favour increasing worker reproduction. To test these predictions, we compared the phenology and colony development of H. ligatus nesting in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada to a previously studied aggregation 90 km north of St. Catharines, in Victoria, Ontario. Despite the close proximity of these two locations, St. Catharines has markedly shorter winters and longer summers. Comparisons between St. Catharines in 2006 and Victoria in the 1980s and 1990s incorporate both geographic differences in climate and temporal differences due to climate change. We predicted that St. Catharines foundress queens should emerge from hibernation and initiate nests earlier in spring, giving them time to produce more workers. Since earlier studies indicated that queens have difficulty suppressing worker reproduction in larger colonies, we also predicted higher rates of worker ovarian development in St. Catharines. In spring and summer 2006, we excavated 65 H. ligatus nests, comparing their contents to 713 specimens collected in pan traps. As predicted, nests were initiated about a month earlier in St. Catharines than in Victoria, but contrary to prediction, fewer workers were produced in St. Catharines. St. Catharines workers were just as likely to have developed ovaries as Victoria workers. About 40% of St. Catharines workers were classified as reproductive, and larger reproductive workers tended to have higher ovarian scores. Early queen mortality in the longer nest cycle of St. Catharines bees may have enhanced opportunities for worker reproduction despite their smaller numbers. Novel features of H. ligatus sociobiology in St. Catharines included evidence that queens can initiate new nests following the loss of their first brood, overlap between worker and gyne production within some nests, and high rates of independent nest founding by worker-sized females, suggesting that many worker-brood females overwinter. Overall, the distinctly warmer climate of St. Catharines compared to Victoria led to earlier nest initiation and lengthening of the flight season, but not to the predicted differences in colony social organisation or queen-worker reproductive skew. A second objective of our study was to assess how well pan trap collections capture important information about demographic and social parameters important in assessing social variability in sweat bees. Nest excavations and pan traps produced similar results, suggesting that pan traps are a good alternative when nest excavations are impossible.

FIGURE 3. Synalpheus microneptunus n in Sponge-dwelling snapping shrimps (Alpheidae: Synalpheus) of Barbados, West Indies, with a description of a new eusocial species

FIGURE 3. Synalpheus microneptunus n. sp. Holotype, ovigerous female, CL 2.72 mm (USNM 1154070, original VIMS BR08-7001) from Xestospongia proxima, Cement Factory, Barbados: A, carapace, anterior region, and cephalic appendages, dorsal view; allotype, non-ovigerous individual, CL 2.44 mm (USNM 1154072, original VIMS BR08-7002-2) from Xestospongia proxima, Cement Factory, Barbados: B, anterior carapace and cephalic appendages, dorsal view; C, chela of major first pereopod, ventral view; D, same, dorsal view; E, same, anterior region; F, third maxilliped. Scale bar = 1 mm for A, D; 1.33 mm for B, 1.5 mm for C, E; 0.4 mm for F.

FIGURE 2 in Sponge-dwelling snapping shrimps (Alpheidae: Synalpheus) of Barbados, West Indies, with a description of a new eusocial species

FIGURE 2. Observed accumulation of species in the Synalpheus gambarelloides group (thick black line); expected species accumulation curve (gray line) estimated using the bootstrap function in EstimateS (Colwell 2005); observed accumulation of unique sponge host species (thin black line); and observed accumulation of unique shrimp-sponge associations (white circles, right y-axis) as a function of collection effort (number of sponge specimens collected).

FIGURE 6. Synalpheus microneptunus n in Sponge-dwelling snapping shrimps (Alpheidae: Synalpheus) of Barbados, West Indies, with a description of a new eusocial species

FIGURE 6. Synalpheus microneptunus n. sp. Paratype, non-ovigerous individual, CL 2.49 mm (USNM 1154071, original VIMS BR08-7002-1) from Xestospongia proxima, Cement Factory, Barbados: A, abdomen, right side; paratype, non-ovigerous individual, CL 2.44 mm (USNM 1154072, original VIMS BR08-7002-2) from Xestospongia proxima, Cement Factory, Barbados: B, telson, dorsal view; C, distolateral margin of left uropodal exopod, dorsal view; paratypes, non-ovigerous individual, CL 2.44 (USNM 1154073, original VIMS BR08-7002-3) from Xestospongia proxima, Cement Factory, Barbados: D, distolateral margin of right uropodal exopod, dorsal view. Scale bar = 1 mm for A, 1.4 mm for B, 0.25 mm for C, D.

FIGURE 1 in Sponge-dwelling snapping shrimps (Alpheidae: Synalpheus) of Barbados, West Indies, with a description of a new eusocial species

FIGURE 1. Map of Barbados showing sampling sites (black circles). Inset indicates location of Barbados in the Caribbean.

FIGURE 4. Synalpheus microneptunus n in Sponge-dwelling snapping shrimps (Alpheidae: Synalpheus) of Barbados, West Indies, with a description of a new eusocial species

FIGURE 4. Synalpheus microneptunus n. sp. Paratype, non-ovigerous individual, CL 2.44 mm (USNM 1154072, original VIMS BR08-7002-2) from Xestospongia proxima, Cement Factory, Barbados: A, minor first pereopod; B, same, distal region of fingers; C, second pereopod, setae not drawn; D, same, distal region. Scale bar = 0.33 mm for A, 0.16 mm for B, 1 mm for C, 0.4 mm for D.

FIGURE 5. Synalpheus microneptunus n in Sponge-dwelling snapping shrimps (Alpheidae: Synalpheus) of Barbados, West Indies, with a description of a new eusocial species

FIGURE 5. Synalpheus microneptunus n. sp. Paratype, non-ovigerous individual, CL 2.44 mm (USNM 1154072, original VIMS BR08-7002-2) from Xestospongia proxima, Cement Factory, Barbados: A, third pereopod; B, same, distal region; C, fourth pereopod; D, same, distal region; E, fifth pereopod; F, same, distal region. Scale bar = 1 mm for A, C, E; 0.27 mm for B, D, F.

opencc-zeroOct 2021View details →

Data from: The extension of foundress lifespan and the evolution of eusociality in the Hymenoptera

The evolution of effectively sterile workers in the aculeate Hymenoptera (ants, bees and stinging wasps) requires that a female's lifespan largely overlap that of her daughters. The evolution of long nest foundress lifespans in eusocial species from the short lifespans of solitary species is investigated. Analyses that control for phylogeny show for the first time that foundress adult lifespan increases, and first-brood offspring development time decreases, with increasing colony size, resulting in the ratio of foundress adult lifespan to worker total lifespan increasing with increasing colony size. These patterns support the hypothesis that the reproductive division of labour increases with increasing colony size, explaining the evolution of effectively sterile workers in species with large colonies. However, there is a discrete increase in foundress adult lifespan in the transition from non-eusociality to eusociality that is independent of colony size. An analysis of life history characters suggests that this increase is explained by nests being founded by multiple females and progressive feeding of larvae as they develop. A reduced rate of senescence of a dominant co-foundress may be selected as a plastic response to social status if high-risk tasks performed by subordinate co-foundresses reduce the dominant's extrinsic mortality rate. Multiple-foundress nests in which one female is responsible for most or all the reproduction (semisociality) and in which foundresses are full sisters are favoured by haplodiploidy, perhaps explaining why eusociality is so common in the Hymenoptera.

opencc-zeroMay 2022View details →

Extreme reproductive skew at the dawn of sociality is consistent with inclusive fitness theory but problematic for routes to eusociality

To understand the earliest stages of social evolution we need to identify species that are undergoing the initial steps into sociality. Amphylaeus morosus is the only unambiguously known social species in the bee family Colletidae and represents an independent origin of sociality within the Apoidea. This allows us to investigate the selective factors promoting the transition from solitary to social nesting. Using genome-wide SNP genotyping, we infer robust pedigree relationships to identify maternity of brood and intracolony relatedness for colonies at the end of the reproductive season. We show that A. morosus forms both matrifilial and full-sibling colonies, both involving complete or almost complete monopolization over reproduction. In social colonies, the reproductive primary was also the primary forager with the secondary female remaining in the nest, presumably as a guard. Social nesting provided significant protection against parasitism and increased brood survivorship in general. We show that secondary females gain large indirect fitness benefits from defensive outcomes, enough to satisfy the conditions of inclusive fitness theory, despite an over-production of males in social colonies. These results suggest an avenue to sociality that involves high relatedness and, very surprisingly, extreme reproductive skew in its earliest stages and raises important questions about the evolutionary steps in pathways to eusociality.

Figure 4 in Evidence for the evolution of eusociality in stem ants and a systematic revision of †Gerontoformica (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Figure 4. Photomicrographs of †G. sternorhabda sp. nov. showing setation and certain key features. A–D, G–I, paratype, CASENT0741234. E, F, J, holotype, CASENT0741233. A, body, ventrolateral oblique view. B, head, dorsolateral oblique view. C–F, body and left legs: D, dorsolateral oblique; (F) is slightly offset from (E), revealing the prora and subpetiolar process. G, protarsus, posterodorsal oblique view. H, mesotarsus, dorsal view. I, metatarsus, dorsal view. J, metatarsus, posterior view. Abbreviations: ad, antennomere distorted, i.e. visibly distorted antennomere associated with decay bubble; cn, cinctus; ms, metanotal spiracle; pr, prora; psf, anterior flange of propodeal spiracle; ptb, probasitarsal brush; spp, subpetiolar process; ss, standing setae; tnc, transverse mesonotal carina.

Figure 13. Couplet 3 in Evidence for the evolution of eusociality in stem ants and a systematic revision of †Gerontoformica (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Figure 13. Couplet 3: prora large and triangular (3-1) or smaller and of a different shape (3'-1); abdominal segment III about as long as tall (3-2) or taller than long (3'-2). (3-1) †G. pilosa ANTWEB1038931 (M. Baldi, AntWeb), abdominal segment III in dorsolateral oblique view. (3'-1) †G. sternorhabda sp. nov. holotype, CASENT0741233, abdominal segment III in dorsolateral oblique view. (3-2) †G. pilosa holotype, JZC-Bu225 (P. Barden, AntWeb), abdominal segment III in lateral view. (3'-2) †G. magna, FANTWEB00014 (V. Perrichot, AntWeb), abdominal segment III in dorsolateral oblique view.

Figure 8 in Evidence for the evolution of eusociality in stem ants and a systematic revision of †Gerontoformica (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Figure 8. Photomicrographs of †G. gracilis showing setation and certain key features. Specimen CASENT0741232. A, body in ventrolateral anterior oblique view. B, body in dorsolateral posterior oblique view. C, detail of head and prothorax in ventrolateral anterior oblique view. D, detail of mid and hind legs in ventrolateral anterior oblique view. Abbreviations: AII–VII, abdominal segments II–VII; AVsp, spiracle of abdominal segment V; ar, arolium; ca, calcar; cav, velum of calcar; ce, compound eye; fc, frontal carina; mc, cranial condyle of mandible; md, mandible; mspfm, prefemur of mesothoracic leg; msptc, tooth of mesothoracic leg pretarsal claw; mstbspa, anterior tibial spur of mesothoracic leg; mstbspp, posterior tibial spur of mesothoracic leg; mtpfm, prefemur of metathoracic leg; mtplglvf, metapleural gland ventral flange; pd, pedicel; pdcs, prodisticoxal suture; pl, labial palp; plo, plantar lobe; pm, maxillary palp; pnt, pronotum; ppd, propodeum; ppdsp, propodeal spiracle; ppl, propleuron; pr, prora; ptsp, spiracle of the petiole; sc, scape.

Figure 14. Couplet 4 in Evidence for the evolution of eusociality in stem ants and a systematic revision of †Gerontoformica (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Figure 14. Couplet 4: antennal scrobe reaching (4-1) or not reaching (4'-1) compound eye. (4-1) †G. contega holotype, JZC-Bu300 (P. Barden, AntWeb), head in oblique lateral view. (4'-1) †G. magna holotype, JZC-Bu108 (P. Barden, AntWeb), head in oblique facial view.