Gay Daniel R, Judd Timothy M
Department of Biology, Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701, USA.
Insects. 2023 Jul 9;14(7):617. doi: 10.3390/insects14070617.
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. To determine the relative importance of larval and adult cues, we reared individuals from prepupae to adults isolated from known environmental cues shown to affect caste differentiation. Individuals were given access to two foods with different ratios of protein and carbohydrates. Levels of protein, amino acids, carbohydrates and lipids were measured after the feeding trials. If larval experience drove feeding behavior in adults, we expected to see differences in protein and carbohydrate intake as well as differences in nutrient levels. Females showed no differences in feeding or nutrient levels. Males had lower levels of protein and amino acids than females but had similar feeding results to females.
越来越多的证据表明，纸巢蜂作为工蜂或生殖雌蜂（蚁后）的命运受到幼虫期和羽化期存在的线索的影响。工蜂和蚁后在成年早期的营养需求不同。雄蜂寿命短，营养需求与雌蜂不同。为了确定幼虫期和成虫期线索的相对重要性，我们将个体从预蛹饲养到成虫，使其与已知的影响 caste 分化的环境线索隔离。给个体提供两种蛋白质和碳水化合物比例不同的食物。喂食试验后测量蛋白质、氨基酸、碳水化合物和脂质的水平。如果幼虫期的经历驱动成年个体的进食行为，我们预期会看到蛋白质和碳水化合物摄入量的差异以及营养水平的差异。雌性在进食或营养水平上没有差异。雄性的蛋白质和氨基酸水平低于雌性，但进食结果与雌性相似。 （注：caste 可能是 caste differentiation，原句中此处有误，推测是 caste 少了字母 i，正常应是 caste differentiation 表示“ caste 分化” ，但按照要求未修改原文错误直接翻译）
