Nestmate recognition is a common phenomenon in social insects that typically is mediated by cuticular hydrocarbons. Geographical variation in cuticular hydrocarbons has been observed, although the pattern of variation is not consistent across species and is usually related to the biology and ecology of the different species. Polistes biglumis (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) is a social wasp that lives in high mountains where populations are separated by significant geographical barriers. Here we investigated the level of chemical variation among populations of P. biglumis in the Alps, and shed light on the phylogeography of this species. Populations could be discriminated by means of their cuticular hydrocarbon profiles, which showed a pattern consistent with the isolation-by-distance hypothesis. Molecular data highlighted two areas with different levels of haplotype diversity, although all wasps belonged to the same species. These results suggest that the populations of P. biglumis in the Alps are geographically isolated from one another, favoring their genetic and chemical differentiation.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10886-014-0531-0 | DOI Listing |
In previous work, we found that short sleep caused sensitivity to oxidative stress; here we set out to characterize the physiological state of a diverse group of chronically short-sleeping mutants during hyperoxia as an acute oxidative stress. Using RNA-sequencing analysis, we found that short-sleeping mutants had a normal transcriptional oxidative stress response relative to controls. In both short-sleeping mutants and controls, hyperoxia led to downregulation of glycolytic genes and upregulation of genes involved in fatty acid metabolism, reminiscent of metabolic shifts during sleep.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEvol Lett
December 2024
Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Fife, United Kingdom.
Differences in interspecific mating traits, such as male sexual signals and female preferences, often evolve quickly as initial barriers to gene flow between nascent lineages, and they may also strengthen such barriers during secondary contact via reinforcement. However, it is an open question whether loci contributing to intraspecific variation in sexual traits are co-opted during the formation and strengthening of mating barriers between species. To test this, we used a population genomics approach in natural populations of Australian cricket sister species that overlap in a contact zone: and First, we identified loci associated with intraspecific variation in mating signals: advertisement song and cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) pheromones.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArch Insect Biochem Physiol
December 2024
Laboratory of Chemical and Behavioral Ecology, Nature Research Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania.
Cuckoo wasps, also known as jewel or gold wasps (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae), are kleptoparasites and parasitoids that impose their offspring on the breeding efforts of other wasp species. Chrysidids oviposit in the nests of predatory wasps, and the hatched larva kills the host's larva and consumes the resources collected by the host. When a cuckoo wasp is detected by the host wasp, the host may abandon the nest or take other measures to prevent the development of the kleptoparasite.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFood Res Int
December 2024
Department of Fundamental Technology, Panasonic Appliances, Hangzhou 310000, PR China.
Insect Sci
November 2024
Programa de Pós-graduação em Biologia Animal, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul-UFRGS, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Resource partitioning among sympatric species is crucial for assembling ecological communities, such as caterpillar-ant assemblages in tropical forests. Myrmecophilous caterpillars use behavioral and chemical strategies to coexist with ants, avoiding attacks. While these strategies are well-understood in single pair of interacting species, such as those involving myrmecophiles and ants, their role in complex multitrophic interactions that include several species of plants, herbivores and ants remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!