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Effect of climate on strategies of nest and body temperature regulation in paper wasps, Polistes biglumis and Polistes gallicus.

Authors :
Stabentheiner, Anton
Nagy, Julia Magdalena
Kovac, Helmut
Käfer, Helmut
Petrocelli, Iacopo
Turillazzi, Stefano
Source :
Scientific Reports. 3/1/2022, Vol. 12 Issue 1, p1-14. 14p.
Publication Year :
2022

Abstract

Polistes paper wasps are a widespread taxon inhabiting various climates. They build nests in the open without a protective outer layer, which makes them vulnerable to changing temperatures. To better understand the options they have to react to environmental variation and climate change, we here compare the thermoregulatory behavior of Polistes biglumis from cool Alpine climate with Polistes gallicus from warm Mediterranean climate. Behavioral plasticity helps both of them to withstand environmental variation. P. biglumis builds the nests oriented toward east-south-east to gain solar heat of the morning sun. This increases the brood temperature considerably above the ambience, which speeds up brood development. P. gallicus, by contrast, mostly avoids nesting sites with direct insolation, which protects their brood from heat stress on hot days. To keep the brood temperature below 40–42 °C on warm days, the adults of the two species show differential use of their common cooling behaviors. While P. biglumis prefers fanning of cool ambient air onto the nest heated by the sun and additionally cools with water drops, P. gallicus prefers cooling with water drops because fanning of warm ambient air onto a warm nest would not cool it, and restricts fanning to nests heated by the sun. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20452322
Volume :
12
Issue :
1
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
Scientific Reports
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
156296382
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-07279-0