Comparison of Protein and Carbohydrate Consumption and Processing in Emerging Workers, Gynes and Males of the Wasp .

There is growing evidence that paper wasps' () fate as workers or reproductive females (gynes) is affected by cues that exist at the larval stage and during eclosion. The nutritional requirements for workers and gynes are different early in their adult lives. Males are short-lived and have different nutritional needs than females.

Cause of increased size of acipenseriform eggs infected with Polypodium hydriforme.

Eggs of acipenseriform fish infected with the parasite Polypodium hydriforme become enlarged during later stages of development. This study examined if the increase in size is due to the increase in nutrients or water in the infected eggs and if the polypodium eggs affect the nutrient levels of the neighbouring eggs in the ovary. Infected and uninfected eggs were collected from parasitized Paddlefish, Polyodon spathula, hosts and unparasitized individuals.

Interacting stressors matter: diet quality and virus infection in honeybee health.

Honeybee population declines have been linked to multiple stressors, including reduced diet diversity and increased exposure to understudied viral pathogens. Despite interest in these factors, few experimental studies have explored the interaction between diet diversity and viral infection in honeybees. Here, we used a mixture of laboratory cage and small semi-field nucleus hive experiments to determine how these factors interact.

A Geometric Analysis of the Regulation of Inorganic Nutrient Intake by the Subterranean Termite Reticulitermes flavipes Kollar.

Most studies on termite food selection have focused on a single nutrient per choice, however, termites, like all animals, must balance multiple nutrients in their diet. While most studies that use multi-nutrient approaches focus on macromolecules, the ability to balance the intake of inorganic nutrients is also vital to organisms. In this study, we used the geometric framework to test the effects of multiple inorganic nutrients on termite feeding.

A Nutritional Profile of the Trap-Nesting Wasp Trypoxylon lactitarse (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae): Comparison of Sexes and Overwintering and Non-Overwintering Generations.

The wasp Saussure is a bivoltine trap-nesting species that possesses a non-overwintering generation (G1) and a generation that overwinters as a prepupa (G2). Thus, the nutritional needs of the G1 individuals were predicted to be different than the G2 because the latter generation needs to store energy prior to diapause. Trap-nesting are also of interest because, unlike most Hymenoptera, the males guard the nest while females forage.

Supplementing Blends of Sugars, Amino Acids, and Secondary Metabolites to the Diet of Termites (Reticulitermes flavipes) Drive Distinct Gut Bacterial Communities.

Although it is well known that diet is one of the major modulators of the gut microbiome, how the major components of diet shape the gut microbial community is not well understood. Here, we developed a simple system that allows the investigation of the impact of given compounds as supplements of the diet on the termite gut microbiome. The 16S rRNA pyrosequencing analysis revealed that feeding termites different blends of sugars and amino acids did not majorly impact gut community composition; however, ingestion of blends of secondary metabolites caused shifts in gut bacterial community composition.

The Termite Reticulitermes flavipes (Rhinotermitidae: Isoptera) Can Acquire Micronutrients from Soil.

Micronutrients are important for metabolic processes and structures in insects. How termites obtain micronutrients from the environment is not fully understood. It has been suggested that lower subterranean termites of Rhinotermitidae only gain their nutrients from their food sources.

Quantitative differences in nourishment affect caste-related physiology and development in the paper wasp Polistes metricus.

The distinction between worker and reproductive castes of social insects is receiving increased attention from a developmental rather than adaptive perspective. In the wasp genus Polistes, colonies are founded by one or more females, and the female offspring that emerge in that colony are either non-reproducing workers or future reproductives of the following generation (gynes). A growing number of studies now indicate that workers emerge with activated reproductive physiology, whereas the future reproductive gynes do not.

Variations in diversity and richness of gut bacterial communities of termites (Reticulitermes flavipes) fed with grassy and woody plant substrates.

Diets shape the animal gut microbiota, although the relationships between diets and the structure of the gut microbial community are not yet well understood. The gut bacterial communities of Reticulitermes flavipes termites fed on four individual plant biomasses with different degrees of recalcitrance to biodegradation were investigated by 16S rRNA pyrosequencing analysis. The termite gut bacterial communities could be differentiated between grassy and woody diets, and among grassy diets (corn stover vs.

Effects of soil cations on the foraging behavior of Reticulitermes flavipes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae).

This study examined soil cation concentration gradients around decomposing logs and determined whether Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) builds galleries in soil substrates containing those cations versus soils without, presumably in an effort to forage efficiently. Soil samples were collected at different depths and lateral distances from decomposing logs containing termites, freshly fallen logs without termites, and bare soil locations at 10 sites to determine whether cation gradients existed in a forest floor. Analyses of cation gradients were significant for potassium, calcium, and magnesium; however, only potassium showed a significant gradient where concentrations decreased with depth and lateral distance from a decomposing log.

A test of seasonal responses to sugars in four populations of the termite Reticulitermes flavipes.

Several studies have shown that Reticulitermes termites prefer food with certain types of sugars. However, the specific sugars that were preferred by the termites in each study differed. The difference between the results of these studies might be explained by differences between populations or changes in feeding responses during the active season.

A nutritional profile of the social wasp Polistes metricus: differences in nutrient levels between castes and changes within castes during the annual life cycle.

In wasps, nutrition plays a vital role for colony cohesion and caste determination. However, there is no baseline data set for the nutritional levels of wasps during the different stages of the colony cycle. Here we examined the levels of carbohydrates, lipids, protein, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, and Zn in the wasp Polistes metricus at different stages of the wasp's lifecycle.

Attraction of subterranean termites (Isoptera) to carbon dioxide.

Subterranean termites, Reticulitermes spp., were attracted to carbon dioxide (CO2) in laboratory and field tests. In behavioral bioassays, Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar), Reticulitermes tibialis Banks, and Reticulitermes virginicus Banks were attracted to CO2 concentrations between 5 and 50 mmol/mol.