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Background: The poly-sensitization to Hymenoptera venom makes it difficult to select genuine allergens for immunotherapy and increases patients' costs. The objective of this study was to determine the culprit allergen in dual or triple-sensitized patients to three Hymenoptera venoms through molecular diagnosis and evaluating the results of incorporating the molecular diagnosis with skin tests. Methods: Thirty-two patients with anaphylactic reactions and dual or triple-sensitization to Hymenoptera venoms in skin tests entered this study. IgE-sensitization to whole extracts and molecules of Apis mellifera (Api m), Vespula vulgaris (Ves v), and Polistes dominulus (Pol d) was evaluated utilizing ALEX or ImmunoCAP. Results: Twenty-nine patients (90.6%) were male. IgE-sensitization to at least one of the allergenic molecules related to Apis mellifera, Vespula vulgaris, and Polistes dominulus was seen in 59.4, 53.1, and 21.9%, respectively. Among 32 patients, 14 (43.8) and 8 (25%), were mono-sensitized to Api m and Ves v components in ALEX, respectively. Double sensitization to Hymenoptera was identified in 18.8% of patients in ALEX. Api m 1+/Api m 2−/Api m 10− and Ves v 1+/Ves v 5+ demonstrated the most prevalent sensitizations patterns in our patients. Conclusions: The molecular diagnosis of IgE-sensitization to Hymenoptera venoms can be valuable, especially in patients who show dual or triple-sensitization in skin tests, as the ALEX results revealed mono and double-sensitization to Hymenoptera venoms in 22 and 6 patients, respectively. Regarding the high cost and adverse reactions of venom immunotherapy, especially for two or three venoms, incorporating the molecular diagnosis alongside skin tests for accurate diagnosis of the culprit venom could help decrease costs for patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article distinguishes the role of hexagonal motifs in close-packed solid-state structures and in graphite and graphene; we then illustrate how hexagonal cells in the nests of honey bees and paper wasps minimize construction materials while optimizing space and achieving a robust architecture from delicate materials

The European paper wasp, Polistes dominula (Christ) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), directly competes with native Polistes and is a safety concern for workers and homeowners. A previous investigation of Polistes behavior found that a portion of wasps died after consuming a solution of pear ester, a compound commonly found in fruits that is considered non-toxic to humans. The goal of our study was to corroborate those preliminary observations and investigate the toxicity of pear ester to P. dominula. Two experiments were performed. First, 3 wasp castes were fed 17% sugar water, or sugar water mixed with 0.5%, 1.0%, 5.0%, or 10.0% (w/v) solutions of pear ester. Mortality after 24 h ranged from 0% among wasps fed sugar water only, to >10% among wasps that were fed pear ester. Mortality increased logarithmically with pear ester concentration. Pear ester toxicity differed among wasp castes, with <5% mortality recorded among fall gynes to >10% mortality among workers. The second experiment attempted to define the relationship between morbidity and volume of pear ester consumed by P. dominula workers. Although results confirmed that ingestion of pear ester causes death or paralysis of P. dominula workers, there was no clear relationship between volume of ingested pear ester and wasp morbidity. About 80% of P. dominula were unaffected by pear ester despite consuming large quantities of the solution. This is the first study to demonstrate lethal effects of pear ester compound and may indicate its potential as an insecticide for paper wasps. La avispa cartonera europea, Polistes dominula (Christ) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), compite directamente con las Polistes nativas y, además, es una preocupación de seguridad para trabajadores y familias en sus casas. Una investigación previa sobre el comportamiento de Polistes, encontró que algunas de las avispas morían después de consumir una solución de éster de pera, un compuesto comúnmente encontrado en frutas y que no es considerado tóxica para humanos. El objetivo de nuestro estudio fue corroborar esas observaciones preliminares e investigar la toxicidad del éster de pera para P. dominula. Se realizaron 2 experimentos. Primero, 3 castas de avispas fueron alimentadas con soluciones de 17% agua azucarada, o agua mezclada con 0.5%, 1.0%, 5.0% y 10.0% (p/v) con éster de pera. La mortalidad después de 24 horas varió desde 0% entre avispas alimentadas solamente con agua azucarada, a >10% entre avispas a las cuáles se les dio éster de pera. La mortalidad aumentó logarítmicamente con la concentración de éster de pera. La toxicidad del éster de pera varió entre las castas de avispas, con una mortalidad registrada <5% entre hembras reproductivas de otoño a >10% entre obreras. El segundo experimento intentó definir la relación entre morbilidad y volumen de éster de pera consumido por obreras de P. dominula. Aunque los resultados confirmaron que la ingesta de éster de pera causa la muerte o parálisis de obreras de P. dominula, no hubo una relación clara entre el volumen ingerido de éster de pera y morbilidad. Cerca del 80% de P. dominula no fue afectado por el éster de pera, a pesar, de haber consumido grandes cantidades de la solución. Este es el primer estudio que demuestra que la ingestión de éster de, pero por un insecto causa parálisis o muerte. Este es el primer estudio que demuestra efectos letales del compuesto de éster de pera y puede indicar su potencial como insecticidas para avispas papeleras. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The heat-loving paper wasp Polistes dominula builds small nests in sheltered places in quite differing habitats, providing a favorable microclimate for brood development. Their careful choice of the nesting site enables them to keep the nest and brood temperature above the ambient air temperature. In temperate Austrian (Central European) climates, the cooling efforts of the adult wasps keep the mean comb temperature from exceeding approximately 39 °C, which seems to be a threshold for optimal development. Measurement of the nest and the body temperature of the wasps at typical nesting sites revealed a close relationship with the air temperature at the nests but a suboptimal correlation with climate data from a local standard weather station or model-generated macroclimate data. The comparison emphasizes the importance of microclimate measurements if it is to judge the vulnerability of insects to climate change. The paper wasp Polistes dominula is a thermophilic species originating from the Mediterranean climate, but is now widely spread in Europe. They live in quite differing habitats; and as synanthropic species, they have been established in human settlement areas. They build a single small comb at protected places with a favorable microclimate. We measured the temperature of the wasps, the nests and their environment at typical nesting sides in Austria (Europe) in the temperate climate, in order to reveal relationships between nest and body temperature and the habitats' microclimate. The temperatures of the comb and of the wasps' body were in a wide range (~20–37 °C) above the ambient air temperature at the nest. This is an advantage as higher temperatures accelerate the development speed of the brood. However, the mean comb temperature did not exceed approximately 38.6 °C. This was managed by cooling efforts of the adult wasps. The ambient air temperature near the nest (~1–2 cm) was always clearly elevated above the ambient air temperature at a local standard weather station in the habitat. A comparison with climate-model-generated macroclimate data revealed the necessity of measuring microclimate data for a reliable description of the insects' thermal environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social wasps are known to be aggressive, and this trait causes some other animal species to associate with these insects. These associations appear to be common in nature, however, they are not easily located nor understood. Thus, the objective of this work is to add new data to studies of associations between birds and wasps, recorded from the cerrado and caatinga of the states of Bahia, Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte, northeastern Brazil, from 2018 to 2021. Nine colonies of social wasps were found, associated with Tolmomyias flaviventris (Wied, 1831) and Tolmomyias sulphurescens (Spix, 1825) (Passeriformes: Rhynchocyclidae). The behavior of associating with wasp colonies is a form of defense of these birds against predators, and seems to be related to the breeding season of the birds, since predation on their nests is the main factor for reducing their reproductive success.

With powerful functional genomics tools, including RNA interference (RNAi), the study of gene function is moving from simpler phenotypes in model organisms to more complex traits in non-models. However, optimizing RNAi-mediated gene knockdown for a novel system can be time consuming and expensive, so researchers interested in initiating an RNAi study for functional genomics in a non-model organism will want to consider the successes and failures of RNAi in related species and similar phenotypes. Yet, sub-optimal and negative knockdown results are rarely reported alongside positive ones, so choosing the best methodological parameters can be difficult. Furthermore, social insects pose extra challenges to designing functional genomics studies, as the traits we measure are often part of the extended phenotype of a primary reproductive, emerge from the collective phenotypes of many individuals, and may be the result of a gene taking on a novel functional role in a social system. We attempt to mitigate these challenges for other social insect biologists by reporting our own successes and impediments to optimizing RNAi for the gene vitellogenin in the paper wasp Polistes fuscatus. We discuss the many factors that can affect RNAi experimental design and which parameters worked optimally for our study, as well as compile a list of working parameters from previous RNAi studies in social Hymenoptera. We highlight the difficulties of RNAi that are specific to social Hymenoptera, including the potential differences in RNA efficacy across behavioral caste, and share results on our optimized parameters as a potential roadmap for other social insect biologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of social wasp biology is often focused on understanding the factors involved in the evolution of social behavior. However, despite the importance of parasitism for the fitness of social insect colonies, little is known about the presence of parasitic protozoan infections in Neotropical social wasp populations. Herein, we report the first recorded occurrence of eugregarines in the midgut of the paper wasp Polistes versicolor. Our study shows 46% of the adults (n = 50) in the studied population were infected with gregarine trophozoites. No protozoans were identified in any of the sampled larvae (n = 14). This new record may indicate the existence of a new taxon within Order Eugregarinorida. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper wasp Polistes dominula is a thermophilic species originating from the Mediterranean climate, but is now widely spread in Europe. They live in quite differing habitats; and as synanthropic species, they have been established in human settlement areas. They build a single small comb at protected places with a favorable microclimate. We measured the temperature of the wasps, the nests and their environment at typical nesting sides in Austria (Europe) in the temperate climate, in order to reveal relationships between nest and body temperature and the habitats’ microclimate. The temperatures of the comb and of the wasps’ body were in a wide range (~20–37 °C) above the ambient air temperature at the nest. This is an advantage as higher temperatures accelerate the development speed of the brood. However, the mean comb temperature did not exceed approximately 38.6 °C. This was managed by cooling efforts of the adult wasps. The ambient air temperature near the nest (~1–2 cm) was always clearly elevated above the ambient air temperature at a local standard weather station in the habitat. A comparison with climate-model-generated macroclimate data revealed the necessity of measuring microclimate data for a reliable description of the insects’ thermal environment.

Honey is a healing compound produced by the Apidae bees. So far, the only genus of Apis with 9 known species worldwide is a honey bee. But species of paper wasps in the Vespidae can also produce honey. This research was conducted to study and identify the species of paper wasp honey producer in the South of Kerman. For this purpose, the activity areas of this wasp were identified, and specimens of this paper wasp were collected for species identification. The specimens were identified by keys and related articles and Confirmed by Dr. James M. Carpenter at the American Museum of natural history. Parapolybia escalerae (Meado-Waldo) was described by Mead-Waldo in the London British Museum in 1911 as a single female specimen from southwestern Iran. The World distribution of this paper wasp is in Pakistan, Turkey, and Iran. According to the results of this study, the species Parapolybia escalerae (Meado-Waldo, 1911) was identified for the first time in southeastern Iran (south of Kerman). This species was distributed south of Kerman from the tropical foothills of Jabalbarz Mountains (southern Jabalbarz to Mohammadabad) and Bahraseman. Parapolybia escalerae is introduced in the world as a paper wasp species of a honey producer. The paper wasp is known as dry or chocolate honey and has medicinal use. In this study, the male and queen specimens were collected and identified for the first time. This study found that this species of paper wasp, like the Apis florea, produces wild honey. A. florea has open nests and small colonies of a single comb, but P. escalerae is in the dark space of mountains and cliffs and produces many combs. The activity of this species was mostly observed on the Ziziphus sp. and Pistacia terebinthus trees. This paper wasp has a social life and includes three forms of queens, workers, and males. So far, only two species of Honey producing paper wasps have been reported in South America, including Brachygastra mellifica (Say, 1837), known as the Mexican Honey Wasp and Brachygastra lecheguana (Latreille, 1824), which are paper wasps belonging to the subfamily Polistinae. These two species have round nests and build their nests on tall trees and the ground in open spaces. Their honey has medicinal use in different regions of South America and is collected by local people. The paper wasp species P. escalerae works in the crevices of the rocks and has several flat combs. In Iran, the local people of the southern regions of Iran use this honey as medicine to treat respiratory diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Molecularly adapted: Paper wasps inhabit extremely variable thermal environments. • Normal cellular function: Hsc70 and Hsp83 appear important under benign conditions. • Stress response: Hsp70 and Hsp83 expression is highly induced by severe heat stress. • Development: Expression of Heat Shock Proteins varied between life stages. • Environmental adaptation: Use of the Heat Shock Response differ between populations. Temperature is a crucial factor in many physiological processes, especially in small ectotherms whose body temperature is highly influenced by ambient temperature. Polistes (paper wasps) is a genus of primitively eusocial wasps found in widely varying thermal environments throughout the world. Paper wasps construct open-faced combs in which the brood is exposed to varying ambient temperatures. The Heat Shock Response is a physiological mechanism that has been shown to help cope with thermal stress. We investigated the expression of heat shock proteins in different life stages of three species of Polistes from different climates with the aim of deducing adaptive patterns. This was done by assaying heat shock protein (hsp70 , hsp83 , hsc70) expression during control conditions (25 °C) or a heat insult (35 or 45 °C) in individuals collected from natural populations in Alpine, Temperate, or Mediterranean climates. Basal expression of hsc70 and hsp83 was found to be high, while hsp70 and hsp83 expression was found to be highly responsive to severe heat stress. As expression levels varied based on species, geographical origin, and life stage as well as between heat shock proteins, the Heat Shock Response of Polistes was found to be complex. The results suggest that adaptive utilization of the heat shock response contributes to the ability of Polistes spp. to inhabit widely different thermal environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paper wasps are a model system for the study of social evolution due to a high degree of inter- and intraspecific variation in cooperation, aggression, and visual signals of social status. Increasing the taxonomic coverage of genomic resources for this diverse clade will aid comparative genomic approaches for testing predictions about the molecular basis of social evolution. Here, we provide draft genome assemblies for two well-studied species of paper wasps, Polistes exclamans and Mischocyttarus mexicanus. The P. exclamans genome assembly is 221.5 Mb in length with a scaffold N50 of 4.11 Mb. The M. mexicanus genome assembly is 227 Mb in length with a scaffold N50 of 1.1 Mb. Genomes have low repeat content (9.54–10.75%) and low GC content (32.06–32.4%), typical of other social hymenopteran genomes. The DNA methyltransferase gene, Dnmt3  , was lost early in the evolution of Polistinae. We identified a second independent loss of Dnmt3 within hornets (genus: Vespa). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mirror studies have uncovered evidence for self-awareness in several non-human animals; however, this approach has not been extended to invertebrates. Here, we examined mirror responses of Polistes paper wasps, insects with high social cognitive abilities. We used a highly replicated design, exposing wasps to mirror self-recognition (MSR) test stimuli (mirror, facial marking) and several control stimuli (non-reflective surfaces, invisible marks, and sham marks). We found that nest-founding queen wasps respond to mirrors with increases in antennation and touching over non-reflective surfaces. Visible marks also resulted in more exploratory behaviours (antennating and touching the mirror), but decreases in self-directed behaviours typically used as indicators of MSR. While this experiment does not support the notion that wasps possess self-awareness, it shows that wasps respond to subtle alterations in their visual environment and appearance with exploratory behaviour. This work thus increases our understanding of insects' cognitive abilities, suggesting high levels of perceptual richness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A nest of a paper wasp, Polistes(Gyrostoma)sp., infested by the pyralid Hypsopygia mauritialis was dissected and examined in detail. The nest was found in Kagoshima, southern Japan, and collected in mid-September, 2021. Cell walls of the nest comb had many holes, and no brood or meconia remained, probably because of destruction from the feeding activities of the larval moths. The nest had a strange structure(fecal dangler)suspended from the nest comb: the fecal dangler was about 10 cm long and mainly comprised fecal grains of the moth mixed with pupal exuviae of the moth and fragments of wasp cocoons woven together with silk. The nest comb and fecal dangler contained 43 live moth larvae(only 13 of which were vigorous)and 8 live pupae. A total of at least 123 pupal exuviae were present. The feeding behavior and the function of the fecal dangler are discussed, and compared with other cases of Polistes nests infested by Hypsopygia species previously reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ropalidia marginata is a common primitively eusocial wasp in peninsular India. Their colonies contain a single egg-laying queen and several non-egg-laying workers. Queens and workers are morphologically indistinguishable, and individuals can change from one role to the other. Unlike most primitively eusocial species, queens of R. marginata are docile, non-aggressive and non-interactive. Nevertheless, the queens maintain a complete reproductive monopoly mediated by non-volatile pheromones. Upon the death or removal of the queen, one worker becomes temporarily hyper-aggressive and becomes the next queen within about a week; we refer to her as the 'potential queen'. Because only one individual becomes hyper-aggressive and reveals herself as the potential queen, and the other wasps never challenge her, we have been much interested in identifying the potential queen in the presence of the queen. However, we have failed to do so until recently. Here, we recount the four decades of search for the potential queen, ending with the recent resolution that emerged from applying the novel technique of multilayer network analysis. Identifying the potential queen in the presence of the previous queen is now possible by integrating behavioural information from multiple social situations to form a holistic view of the social structure of the wasps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the abundance, nesting ecology, and colony survival of two invasive species of paper wasp, Polistes dominula Christ (Hymenoptera:Vespidae) and Polistes chinensis Pérez (Hymenoptera:Vespidae), within their invaded range in New Zealand. The more recent invader, P. dominula, exhibited a strong habitat preference, reaching the highest abundances within suburban areas with an average of 87.4 wasps per 1,000 m2. Coastal habitats were also found to be suitable environments for P. dominula, although wasp abundance in these areas was comparatively lower than suburban sites at 26.5 wasps per 1,000 m2. Although P. chinensis were observed to build more nests in coastal habitats, this was not reflected in the abundance of adult wasps in these areas. Nests of P. dominula were larger and more productive, likely a result of the multiple founding and earlier emergence of workers compared to P. chinensis. Both species exhibited significant differences in nest survival, with P. dominula observed to have a higher colony survival rate, particularly in suburban habitats where this species utilized man-made substrates as nesting sites. Neither species nested within forest sites and translocated nests of P. dominula failed to thrive within forest habitats. Findings of this research suggest that P. dominula will not pose a threat to species inhabiting forested areas. Instead, biodiversity managers should focus their efforts on suburban and coastal environments as native species in these areas will require the greatest protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to recognize others is a frequent assumption of models of the evolution of cooperation. At the same time, cooperative behavior has been proposed as a selective agent favoring the evolution of individual recognition abilities. Although theory predicts that recognition and cooperation may co-evolve, data linking recognition abilities and cooperative behavior with evidence of selection are elusive. Here, we provide evidence of a selective link between individual recognition and cooperation in the paper wasp Polistes fuscatus through a combination of clinal, common garden, and population genomics analyses. We identified latitudinal clines in both rates of cooperative nesting and color pattern diversity, consistent with a selective link between recognition and cooperation. In behavioral experiments, we replicated previous results demonstrating individual recognition in cooperative and phenotypically diverse P. fuscatus from New York. In contrast, wasps from a less cooperative and phenotypically uniform Louisiana population showed no evidence of individual recognition. In a common garden experiment, groups of wasps from northern populations formed more stable and individually biased associations, indicating that recognition facilitates group stability. The strength of recent positive selection on cognition-associated loci likely to mediate individual recognition is substantially greater in northern compared with southern P. fuscatus populations. Collectively, these data suggest that individual recognition and cooperative nesting behavior have co-evolved in P. fuscatus because recognition helps stabilize social groups. This work provides evidence of a specific cognitive phenotype under selection because of social interactions, supporting the idea that social behavior can be a key driver of cognitive evolution. [Display omitted] • Cooperation and signal diversity covary across the geographic range of a paper wasp • The ability to recognize individuals is related to cooperation and signal diversity • Individual recognition stabilizes social groups • Selection on social cognition genes is stronger in more cooperative populations Using three distinct approaches—a geographic cline of signal diversity and cooperation, common garden behavioral experiments, and genomic analyses of selection—Tumulty et al. show that cooperation favors the evolution of individual recognition in a cooperatively breeding paper wasp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]