Differential Nest Parasitism in Three Sympatric Social Wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Polistes spp.) in the West Indies

Authors

  • Christopher K Starr Dr. Christopher K. Starr University of the West Indies Trinidad & Tobago
  • John M Nelson Oral Roberts University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v62i4.396

Keywords:

Chalcoela pegasalis, Jamaica, nest symbionts

Abstract

Jamaica's three species of social wasps were found nesting together in a suburban area.  Their nests gave evidence of markedly different parasitoid loads in the sequence Polistes crinitus > P. dorsalis > P. major.  Based on larval and pupal silk remains, the moth Chalcoela pegasalis appears to be the main nest parasitoid at this locality.  Despite widely different parasitoid loads, the estimated per-nest production of adults was similar among the three species.  This suggests a trade-off between investment in anti-parasitoid tactics and in other brood-care activities.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

John M Nelson, Oral Roberts University

Department of Natural Science
Oral Roberts University
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74171 USA

Downloads

Published

2015-12-31

How to Cite

Starr, C. K., & Nelson, J. M. (2015). Differential Nest Parasitism in Three Sympatric Social Wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Polistes spp.) in the West Indies. Sociobiology, 62(4), 604–606. https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v62i4.396

Issue

Vol. 62 No. 4 (2015)

Section

Research Article - Wasps

License

Sociobiology is a diamond open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

 

    1. 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.

 

    1. 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.

 

  1. 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).