Agrahari Maulishree, Gadagkar Raghavendra
Indian Institute of Science, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Bangalore 560 012, India
J Insect Physiol. 2003 Mar;49(3):217-22. doi: 10.1016/s0022-1910(02)00268-8.
Juvenile hormone modulates post-imaginal reproductive division of labor in primitively eusocial species and promotes the production of queens (e.g., Polistes) while it modulates age polyethism and promotes the production of foragers in highly eusocial species (e.g., the honey bee). Ropalidia marginata is a primitively eusocial wasp that shows both post-imaginal regulation of reproductive division of labor as well as age polyethism. Hence, R.marginata is a particularly interesting model system to study the effect of juvenile hormone. We demonstrate here that a single, topical application of 100 micro g of juvenile hormone-III per female wasp accelerates ovarian development of wasps held in isolation. Similar application to wasps released back on to their natal nests has no effect on their rate of behavioral development as witnessed from the age of first performance of feed larva, build, bring pulp and bring food. We conclude therefore that in R.marginata, juvenile hormone has retained its function of modulating reproductive division of labor and has not acquired the function of modulating age polyethism.
保幼激素调节原始群居性物种成虫后的生殖分工，并促进蚁后的产生（如胡蜂），而在高度群居性物种（如蜜蜂）中，它调节年龄多型行为并促进觅食者的产生。缘腹胡蜂是一种原始群居性黄蜂，既表现出成虫后生殖分工的调节，也表现出年龄多型行为。因此，缘腹胡蜂是研究保幼激素作用的一个特别有趣的模型系统。我们在此证明，每只雌蜂单次局部施用100微克保幼激素III可加速隔离饲养的黄蜂的卵巢发育。对放回其出生巢穴的黄蜂进行类似施用，从首次进行喂养幼虫、筑巢、运送纸浆和运送食物的行为年龄来看，对其行为发育速度没有影响。因此，我们得出结论，在缘腹胡蜂中，保幼激素保留了其调节生殖分工的功能，而没有获得调节年龄多型行为的功能。
