Morphological and physiological variation between queens and workers of Protonectarina sylveirae (de Saussure) (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Epiponini)

Revista Brasileira de Entomologia

Getulio Minoru Tanaka Junior¹  Raduan Alexandre Soleman¹  Fernando Barbosa Noll¹ 

[1] ,Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas Departamento de Zoologia e BotânicaSão José do Rio Preto SP ,Brazil

关键词: caste differentiation;    Polistinae;    social wasps;    diferenciação de castas;    Polistinae;    vespas sociais;   

DOI  :  10.1590/S0085-56262010000100013

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

Morphological and physiological variation between queens and workers of Protonectarina sylveirae (de Saussure) (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Epiponini). The Neotropical swarm-founding wasps, Epiponini, range from the absence of morphological differentiation between castes to highly distinct castes. We measured eight body parts of females of two colonies of Protonectarina sylveirae (de Saussure, 1854). ANOVA and Discriminant Analysis evidenced significant differences between castes, as previously observed by other authors for other species of Epiponini. However, some females previously categorized as queens, were actually workers, supported by our statistic analyses. These individuals showed intermediate morphological features between queens and workers, having distinct patterns of hairs and clypeal spots. The castes of P. sylveirae are distinct, however intermediate individuals may be found in colonies promoting social flexibility.

【 授权许可】

CC BY-NC-ND   
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