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Mushroom bodies of vespid wasps
Author(s) -
Ehmer Birgit,
Hoy Ron
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of comparative neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.855
H-Index - 209
eISSN - 1096-9861
pISSN - 0021-9967
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-9861(20000103)416:1<93::aid-cne7>3.0.co;2-f
Subject(s) - vespidae , mushroom bodies , biology , mushroom , hymenoptera , insect , foraging , zoology , ecology , botany , biochemistry , drosophila melanogaster , gene
Mushroom bodies are higher centers in the brains of insects. Studies on honey bees and species of ants suggest that these centers are particularly prominent in social insects. The present study confirms the presence of large mushroom bodies in five subfamilies of vespid wasps, while at the same time showing significant departures from the mushroom body organization that typifies bees and ants. Although the basic organizational plan of the insect mushroom body into calyces, peduncle, and lobes is maintained, as is the arrangement of axons of intrinsic neurons, the size and arrangements of the vespid mushroom body lobes differ markedly from those known from other Hymenoptera. Furthermore, considerable variation is found both between and within vespid subfamilies. The present results are discussed with respect to current hypotheses about functional attributes of mushroom bodies and the phylogeny of the Vespidae. J. Comp. Neurol. 416:93–100, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.