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The influence of temperature on nest site choice and reproductive strategy in a temperate zone Polistes wasp
Author(s) -
JEANNE ROBERT L.,
MORGAN RANDY C.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
ecological entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.865
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1365-2311
pISSN - 0307-6946
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2311.1992.tb01170.x
Subject(s) - brood , nest (protein structural motif) , biology , temperate climate , polistes , ecology , paper wasp , philopatry , zoology , hymenoptera , vespidae , demography , population , biochemistry , biological dispersal , sociology
. 1. Field experiments with Polistes fuscutus showed that more nests were initiated, co‐foundress groups were larger, broods developed faster, and workers eclosed earlier in sun‐warmed sites than in cool ones. 2. These results suggest that colonies nesting in sun‐warmed shelters gained a fitness advantage over those in cooler shelters. More rapid brood development means that such colonies reach the ergonomic stage more quickly, which in turn means a higher expectancy of survival and greater productivity at the end of the season. 3. We argue that thermal properties constitute an important component of Polistes nest site quality in temperate regions and that these properties influence joining and usurping strategies as well as nest site choice in spring Polistes females. Other factors being equal, a joining or usurping female should opt for a colony in a warm site over one in a cool site, leading to the larger foundress groups we found in warm shelters. 4. We hypothesize that the selective advantage of philopatry in temperate zone Polistes populations is that it brings spring females to nest sites of proven quality.