Department of Natural Sciences, City University of New York-LaGuardia Community College, Long Island City, NY 11101, USA.
J Insect Sci. 2022 May 1;22(3). doi: 10.1093/jisesa/ieac030.
Gastral drumming (GD) is a type of vibrational communication that has been reported in several species of yellowjackets and hornets. Despite early claims that it acts as a hunger signal, a more recent study found evidence that it acts as a nest-based food-recruitment signal, the first reported for eusocial wasps. Early studies also claimed, without supporting data, that it is produced most often in the early morning hours when the sun rises. Here, I recorded drumming continuously in colonies of Vespula germanica (Fabricius) to assess whether production was highest in the morning. Although I found no evidence in support of greater early morning production, I found, surprisingly, that it is produced at night, a time when foraging does not occur. When these results are combined with the results from previous studies on this species and similar findings in honey bees, they suggest that GD may be a modulatory signal, which acts by increasing general activity levels and by increasing the rate that individuals come into contact with social cues.
胃音击鼓（GD）是一种在几种小黄蜂和胡蜂中报告的振动通讯方式。尽管早期的研究声称它是一种饥饿信号，但最近的一项研究发现了它作为一种基于巢穴的食物招募信号的证据，这是首次在社会性黄蜂中报告。早期的研究还声称，没有支持数据表明它最常在太阳升起的清晨时分产生。在这里，我连续记录了德国大黄蜂（Fabricius）的巢穴中的击鼓声，以评估其是否在清晨产生最多。尽管我没有发现支持清晨产量更高的证据，但我令人惊讶地发现，它是在夜间产生的，此时不会进行觅食。当这些结果与之前对该物种的研究结果以及在蜜蜂中类似的发现相结合时，它们表明 GD 可能是一种调节信号，通过增加一般活动水平和增加个体接触社会线索的速度来发挥作用。
