Cotoneschi Chiara, Dani Francesca Romana, Cervo Rita, Scala Clea, Strassmann Joan E, Queller David C, Turillazzi Stefano
Dipartimento di Biologia Evoluzionistica, University of Florence, via Romana 17, 50127 Florence, Italy.
Chem Senses. 2009 Mar;34(3):195-202. doi: 10.1093/chemse/bjn079. Epub 2009 Jan 15.
During reproductive phase, larvae of male and female are intermingled in nest of social wasps. Workers care for and feed larvae that gives them an opportunity to bias investment with respect to sex, or even to kill some larvae, if they can distinguish between immature males and females. Cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) mixtures are the most studied cues for species, nestmate, and caste recognition in social Hymenoptera. In this study, we investigate the paper wasp Polistes dominulus to see if male and female larvae show different patterns of CHCs and if workers are able to discriminate between male and female larvae on this basis. We performed gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis on cuticular extracts of larvae, and then we genotyped them to assign sex. We found sex-based variation in CHC-profiles sufficient for discrimination. However, our behavioral assays do not support the view that adults discriminate between male and female larvae within nests.
在生殖阶段，雄性和雌性黄蜂幼虫在社会性黄蜂的巢穴中混杂在一起。工蜂照料并喂养幼虫，这使它们有机会在性别方面偏向投资，甚至如果它们能够区分未成熟的雄性和雌性，就有可能杀死一些幼虫。表皮碳氢化合物（CHC）混合物是社会性膜翅目昆虫中用于物种、巢伴和等级识别的研究最多的线索。在本研究中，我们调查了意大利黄蜂，以观察雄性和雌性幼虫是否表现出不同的CHC模式，以及工蜂是否能够在此基础上区分雄性和雌性幼虫。我们对幼虫的表皮提取物进行了气相色谱-质谱分析，然后对它们进行基因分型以确定性别。我们发现基于性别的CHC谱存在足以进行区分的差异。然而，我们的行为分析并不支持成虫在巢穴内区分雄性和雌性幼虫的观点。
