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Evidence for sex pheromones and inbreeding avoidance in select North American yellowjacket species
Author(s) -
Derstine Nathan T.,
Ohler Bonnie,
Jimenez Sebastian Ibarra,
Landolt Peter,
Gries Gerhard
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
entomologia experimentalis et applicata
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.765
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1570-7458
pISSN - 0013-8703
DOI - 10.1111/eea.12591
Subject(s) - biology , sex pheromone , inbreeding avoidance , zoology , ecology , olfactometer , inbreeding , attraction , mate choice , pheromone , sexual attraction , mating , population , sexual behavior , demography , psychology , linguistics , philosophy , social psychology , sociology , host (biology)
Abstract Little is known about the roles of sex pheromones in mate‐finding behavior of social wasps ( V espidae). Working with the aerial yellowjacket, D olichovespula arenaria ( F abricius), baldfaced hornet, D olichovespula maculata (L.), western yellowjacket, V espula pensylvanica ( S aussure), southern yellowjacket, V espula squamosa ( D rury), and V espula alascensis P ackard, we tested the hypotheses (1) that gynes produce an airborne sex pheromone attractive to males, and (2) that males are more strongly attracted to non‐sibling gynes based on olfactory cues. A field experiment provided the first definitive evidence that D . arenaria gynes attract males. Surprisingly, we did not find such evidence in similar field experiments for sexual attractiveness of gynes of V . squamosa , V . pensylvanica , V . alascensis , or D . maculata . In Y‐tube olfactometer experiments with three of these species ( D . arenaria , D . maculata , V . pensylvanica ), only D . maculata gynes attracted males, provided they were non‐siblings, implying an olfactory‐based mechanism of nestmate recognition and inbreeding avoidance. Lack of sex attraction responses for V . pensylvanica , V . alascensis , and V . squamosa in this study does not rule out pheromone‐mediated sexual communication. Instead, it highlights the possibility that pheromonal signaling may be dependent on the presence of appropriate contextual cues.