Insectes Sociaux最新文献

{"title":"Metabarcoding of larval guts reveals diet diversity in native apex predators-the yellowjacket wasps <i>Vespula vulgaris</i> and <i>Vespula germanica</i>.","authors":"Rosie Drinkwater, Georgia Law, Ben Bellekom, Robert L Brown, William O C Symondson, Elizabeth L Clare, Seirian Sumner","doi":"10.1007/s00040-025-01058-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00040-025-01058-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Aculeate wasps are apex predators and play an important role in regulating arthropod populations. Determining what they hunt and how their diet varies with species ecology, geography and demography is essential to value their contributions as pest controllers in natural and human-modified ecosystems. There are many practical advantages in the study of social wasp diets. As central place foragers, hundreds of foragers bring prey back to the same location (the nest) every day; this means wasp diets can be explored by identifying taxa in prey balls collected directly from foragers arriving at the nest. A second advantage is that the colonies tend to contain large numbers of brood: prey can be identified from the gut contents of larvae or from the faeces that remain after metamorphosis. Morphological identification of insect remnants found in prey balls has provided insights into wasp diets but this approach is time-consuming and requires expert taxonomists. Metabarcoding is a more efficient method for describing insect diets; it has been used to identify prey of social wasps by sequencing prey balls, larvae guts and larval faeces. However, because of the ecological impact, data on social wasp diets are currently heavily skewed towards invasive populations. We lack comprehensive studies documenting what social wasps hunt in their native habitats. We use DNA metabarcoding to analyse the prey in over 500 wasp larvae guts from 14 nests of <i>Vespula</i> spp, sampled in their native range, across southern England. We describe the diverse diets of these insects, with the detection of 12 arthropod Orders in the guts of 554 larvae, and explore how diet varies across different locations. These data demonstrate the highly generalist predator role provided by <i>Vespula</i>, highlighting the key ecological roles they play as regulators of a broad range of arthropod taxa in native ecosystems and provide an important baseline for further exploring their ecological and economic value.</p><p><strong>Supplementary information: </strong>The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00040-025-01058-6.</p>","PeriodicalId":13573,"journal":{"name":"Insectes Sociaux","volume":"73 1","pages":"37-44"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12901276/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146201591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Respiratory metabolism and energetics of <i>Polistes</i> paper wasp larvae and pupae from differing climates.","authors":"H Kovac, A B Amstrup, H Käfer, J G Sørensen, A Stabentheiner","doi":"10.1007/s00040-025-01053-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00040-025-01053-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In ectotherms metabolic rate usually increases disproportionately with ambient temperature within the viable thermal range. This leads to an expectation of a physiological adaptation which balances the benefits and costs of the environmental conditions of the habitat. <i>Polistes</i> paper wasps is a globally distributed genus that inhabits a wide range of thermal environments. Their metabolism and energy requirements are expected to be dependent on life history and the environmental conditions of their habitat. We examined the CO₂ production of larvae and pupae of three species (<i>P. dominula</i>, <i>P. gallicus</i>, <i>P. biglumis</i>) from different climates (Temperate, Mediterranean, Alpine). We investigated larvae and pupae across a temperature range of 5-45 °C. In combination with microclimate measurements, we estimated the energy requirements for an entire breeding season. The metabolic rate increased sigmoidally with increasing temperature in all species and stages. A comparison of the mass-specific metabolic rate revealed a similar relationship in all species and stages, with the exception of <i>P. gallicus</i> larvae which had a significantly lower metabolism, particularly at higher temperatures. The energy expenditure was lowest in <i>P. biglumis</i>, which was mainly attributed to the lower environmental temperatures. When calculating energy requirements under future conditions with increasing temperatures, an additional energetic demand of between 6 and 23% was observed.</p><p><strong>Supplementary information: </strong>The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00040-025-01053-x.</p>","PeriodicalId":13573,"journal":{"name":"Insectes Sociaux","volume":"73 1","pages":"145-156"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12901215/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146201550","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The gut microbiome differs between hygiene-performing and non-hygiene-performing worker honey bees.","authors":"Y H Tola, K Wagoner, M K Strand, O Rueppell, D R Tarpy","doi":"10.1007/s00040-025-01029-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00040-025-01029-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Gut microbiomes play a significant role in the health, development, and behavior of numerous species, including honey bees (<i>Apis mellifera</i>). Worker honey bees exhibit varying degrees of hygienic behavior, which involves the removal of unhealthy brood to mitigate disease within their colony. However, the potential relationship between hygienic behavior and the honey bee gut microbiome has not been previously investigated. In this study, we compared gut microbiota in honey bees engaged in hygienic behavior (hygiene performers) versus those not exhibiting this behavior (non-hygiene performers) using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria were identified as the predominant phyla. Notably, three bacterial species (<i>Apilactobacillus kunkeei</i>, <i>Bartonella apis,</i> and <i>Frischella perrara</i>) were found to be more abundant in hygiene performer bees compared to non-hygiene performer bees. Additionally, hygiene performer bees showed a higher diversity of amplicon sequence variants, with <i>Apibacter mensalis</i> being exclusively present in hygiene performer bees and absent in non-hygiene performer bees. These findings reveal an association between gut microbiota composition and hygienic behavior in honey bees, which may provide a foundation for future research exploring probiotic development and other strategies to enhance honey bee health.</p><p><strong>Supplementary information: </strong>The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00040-025-01029-x.</p>","PeriodicalId":13573,"journal":{"name":"Insectes Sociaux","volume":"72 4","pages":"397-404"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12602618/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145503756","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Burying beetles as a model organism to study sex differences in parental care.","authors":"T Ratz","doi":"10.1007/s00040-024-01010-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00040-024-01010-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In species where both sexes care for offspring, one parent-generally the female-typically provides more care than the other. While current theory offers broad predictions on the evolution of sex differences in parental care, it remains unclear whether ecological factors, such as short-term environmental variation and the intrinsic state of parents, also influence the size of existing asymmetries between parents. Here, I highlight how recent work on burying beetles (<i>Nicrophorus</i> sp.), a now well-established taxon to study biparental care, has contributed to research on sex differences in parenting. Although female burying beetles provide more care than males, the extent of this asymmetry is context-dependent as each sex constantly readjusts care depending on the surrounding environment and own state. Nevertheless, despite variation in the magnitude of the sex differences, there are still clear patterns of care specific to each species, highlighting the importance of the evolutionary history. Finally, the presence of sex differences presumably has consequences for the efficiency of parental care and can affect offspring performance. To gain a more comprehensive understanding of the life-history and environmental conditions driving sex differences in parenting, we need more natural history research on the less commonly studied <i>Nicrophorus</i> species and more work examining behavioural responses to rapid environmental changes in all taxa. Addressing these gaps will contribute to our understanding of how sexual conflict over care is resolved and how biparental cooperation persists despite asymmetries between caring parents.</p>","PeriodicalId":13573,"journal":{"name":"Insectes Sociaux","volume":"72 2","pages":"193-204"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12158860/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144301988","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Intraspecific competition for a nest and its implication for the fitness of relocating ant colonies","authors":"E. Halder, S. Annagiri","doi":"10.1007/s00040-024-00998-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-024-00998-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Intraspecific competition is a fundamental ecological process. Studies in ants have explored this mainly in the context of foraging. There is a notable gap in our understanding of competition dynamics during goal-oriented task of colony relocation even though this task impacts the survival and fitness of colonies. Here, we instigated a competition between equal (<i>n</i> = 17) and unequal (<i>n</i> = 14) sized <i>Diacamma indicum</i> colonies for a new nest and contrasted our findings with two sets of controls—colonies that relocated without facing any competition and colonies that did not relocate. In majority of the trials, one colony successfully occupied the new nest and colony size was a factor in determining this success. In addition, colonies with more explorers and lower latency to start recruitment had a significantly higher chance of occupying the new nest. In 23% of the trials, both colonies merged, following cross colony tandem recruitment and one of the gamergates was killed. The level of aggression displayed by the competing colonies was comparable, but the wining colonies had a lower percentage of colony involved in aggression. Higher levels of aggression were noted in the area close to at the old and new nest site. Further, there was exchange of pupae between competing colonies and larger colonies showed 2.86 times higher pupae theft. Losing colonies experienced significantly higher mortality as compared to controls. Winning colonies experienced higher mortality as compared to non relocating controls. This study showcases how intraspecific competition during colony relocation shapes colony composition, fitness and population dynamics in an ant community.</p>","PeriodicalId":13573,"journal":{"name":"Insectes Sociaux","volume":"102 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142249648","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Diversity of butterfly–ant symbioses in the neotropical genus Ectatomma (Formicidae: Ectatomminae)","authors":"J.-P. Lachaud, L. A. Kaminski, G. Pérez-Lachaud","doi":"10.1007/s00040-024-00996-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-024-00996-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Despite the extraordinary diversity of organisms associated with ants, few species or genera have been inventoried for the myrmecophilous communities they host. Here, we review the known information on Lepidoptera associated with the ant genus <i>Ectatomma</i>, based on: (a) extensive colony sampling and observations on six focal species (<i>E. tuberculatum</i>, <i>E. brunneum</i>, and four cryptic species of the <i>E. ruidum</i> species complex) over a period of 43 years in Mexico, French Guiana, and Colombia, (b) a follow-up of the available literature, and (c) an analysis of <i>Ectatomma</i> images from various photographic databases available online and direct observations in Brazil and Suriname. No lepidopteran species were found inside the nests, but a wide variety of facultative mutualisms were observed outside on plants bearing extrafloral nectaries and/or honeydew-producing hemipterans; however, around 15% involved a form of commensalism, with no direct physical butterfly–ant interaction. Various new associations, previously unnoticed, are reported, and we illustrate a new symbiotic association between <i>Rekoa palegon</i> and <i>E. ruidum</i> sp. 2 in Mexico. At least 29 lepidopteran species from 19 genera, belonging to four tribes in three subfamilies and three families, participate in 41 associations involving only 5 of the 18 known <i>Ectatomma</i> species, all 5 characterized by visiting liquid food sources on foliage. Specialized interactions with <i>Ectatomma</i> ants were only found in three Riodinidae species, while in Lycaenidae interactions were all facultative. A greater sampling effort is needed, including nocturnal sampling and studies on little-studied species of this genus, to obtain a comprehensive picture of the extent of <i>Ectatomma–</i>Lepidoptera interactions.</p>","PeriodicalId":13573,"journal":{"name":"Insectes Sociaux","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142206364","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The social life of Drosophila melanogaster","authors":"J- C. Billeter, T. P. M. Bailly, P. Kohlmeier","doi":"10.1007/s00040-024-00990-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-024-00990-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In this review, we explore the social behavior of the fruit fly <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i>, integrating mechanistic, ecological and evolutionary perspectives. Despite its status as a major laboratory model organism, <i>D. melanogaster</i>’s social life remains generally underappreciated by biologists. Adult flies attract others to food sources through pheromone deposition, leading to group formation. Within these groups, males engage in competitive reproductive behaviors while females adopt complex mating patterns and lay eggs communally. Both sexes adapt their reproductive behaviors to early as well as current social experience. Communal egg-laying by females promotes larval group formation, with larvae cooperating to dig tunnels for protection and breathing while feeding. Aggregation is also visible at the pupal stage, suggesting a social dimension to the entire life cycle of this species. We examine the competitive and cooperative behaviors of <i>D. melanogaster</i>, considering the ecological context (resource distribution, predation, parasitism pressures, and reproductive strategies) that influences these social interactions. We also discuss how individual behavior and physiology varies with group size and diversity, potentially as an adaptation to the costs and benefits of being in a group. This review underscores the potential of fruit flies in advancing research on social interactions and dynamics, demonstrating their usefulness for the fields of sociality, evolution and social neurosciences.</p>","PeriodicalId":13573,"journal":{"name":"Insectes Sociaux","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142206365","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ants (Lasius niger) deposit more pheromone close to food sources and further from the nest but do not attempt to update erroneous pheromone trails","authors":"Tomer J. Czaczkes, Federico-Javier Olivera-Rodriguez, Laure-Anne Poissonnier","doi":"10.1007/s00040-024-00995-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-024-00995-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Many social insects use pheromone trails to recruit workers to resources. Pheromone trails have some limitations, however. Two major limitations are that they evaporate over time, meaning that more distant locations may be more difficult to recruit precisely to, and that they cannot be removed if laid erroneously, or if they become outdated. Here, we ask whether <i>Lasius niger</i> ants can adaptively modulate pheromone deposition to overcome these limitations. Specifically, we first ask whether ants which have followed a pheromone trail to a wrong (unrewarded) location upregulate pheromone deposition to the correct food location to compete with the erroneous trail. They do not. Then, we examine how food distance and proximity to food influence pheromone deposition. We find that ants deposit up to 22 times more pheromone within 10 cm of a food source compared to when they are about to reach the nest. Moreover, they deposit up to four times more pheromone next to a food source placed 100 cm away from the nest as compared to one placed 20 cm away from the nest. <i>Lasius niger</i> ants thus do not display a mechanism for overcoming outdated or erroneously-laid trails by strengthening correct alternatives in our experiment, but do strongly upregulate recruitment to more distant food sources, which are more difficult to locate and recruit to.</p>","PeriodicalId":13573,"journal":{"name":"Insectes Sociaux","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142206366","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Going back to the basics: the use of cricket powder as a protein supplement in artificial ant diets","authors":"F. List, P. Lesne, S. T. Behmer, K. Zhu-Salzman, A. M. Tarone, E. L. Vargo","doi":"10.1007/s00040-024-00986-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-024-00986-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The ability to keep stable, healthy colonies in laboratory settings is fundamental for conducting research on ants and particularly important for developing management tools for pest species. An important component for successful ant rearing is a suitable diet and a number of diets for feeding ants have been developed. Calcium caseinate as a protein supplement has been a widely used ingredient in ant diets, but it has become difficult to obtain. Therefore, there is a need to find an alternative protein supplement for rearing ants in captivity. Using the ant <i>Nylanderia fulva</i> as a model, the suitability of four alternative diets was tested against a calcium caseinate containing diet: (1) whey protein isolate fortified with calcium, (2) whey protein isolate, (3) sodium caseinate, and (4) cricket powder. We tested the performance of colony fragments fed on diets by comparing worker and queen mortality, as well as brood production for 6 weeks. Diet containing cricket powder performed better than all other diets, reflected by lower worker mortality and the addition of new workers and brood to the colony fragment, resulting in colony growth. Considering recent developments in the production of cricket powder making it a low cost and readily accessible ingredient, it should prove an effective protein supplement for rearing ants in captivity for other species.</p>","PeriodicalId":13573,"journal":{"name":"Insectes Sociaux","volume":"18 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142226309","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Indicator ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of disturbance in Mexico","authors":"Itzel R. Rodríguez-deLeón, Miguel Vásquez-Bolaños, Crystian S. Venegas-Barrera, Jorge V. Horta Vega, Mario J. Aguilar-Méndez, Miguel A. García-Martínez, Madai Rosas-Mejía","doi":"10.1007/s00040-024-00993-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-024-00993-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Human activity is one of the major causes of biodiversity loss in both plants and animals, as it can disrupt biological interactions and jeopardise the balance of ecosystems. Despite the implementation of conservation and environmental care policies, their management requires long-term monitoring and incurs high costs. In search of efficient solutions, bioindicator species have been implemented as cost-effective and time-efficient alternatives. Given their diverse roles within terrestrial ecosystems, ants serve as an ideal model group for assessing environmental health and changes in biodiversity. In this study, we focused on identifying disturbance-indicator ant species in various regions of Mexico and analysed their potential geographic distribution patterns. Information was gathered from various sources, including databases, entomological collections, and scientific articles. The human footprint was utilised to categorise ant species based on their impact in Mexico. Using the indicator species value (IndVal) method, 21 ant species indicatives of disturbance were determined across eight Mexican provinces. Eleven of these species exhibited widespread distributions, primarily in vegetation-deprived areas and human settlements. The presence of invasive exotic species, such as <i>Paratrechina longicornis</i> and <i>Wasmannia auropunctata</i>, underscores the need to assess their risks, identify invasion patterns, and develop control and conservation strategies. We provide a list of ecologically relevant ant species in Mexico, establishing a baseline for proposing conservation and effective biodiversity management strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":13573,"journal":{"name":"Insectes Sociaux","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142206368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}