Lecture 28 Flashcards
central place forager
have a central nest & then move out from there to collect food from offspring
solitary ____ & _____ are central place foragers
bees & wasps
what are the disadvantages of being a central place forager?
limited resources
limited defense when gone for long periods of time to acquire resources
Cleptoparasitism
lays eggs in the nest of another spp
Doesn’t need to make a nest or find materials
what % of bees are cleptoparasitic?
~17% (very common)
what is an ex of a bird that is cleptoparasitic?
cuckoo
Wasps don’t have the anatomical features to forage for pollen, so how do they build nests?
not quite sure but they think
o Nest usurpation (cleptoparasitism)
o Origins in males
what characteristics of male wasps are shared with cleptoparasites?
Absence of nest building & pollen collecting structures
Searching behaviour (looking for nest sites)
Structure for fighting (sometimes)
describe the sex determination of Hymenoptera
haplodiploid
Males – haploid
Come from unfertilized eggs
Females – diploid
Capability to make themselves more male than female
Undergoes meiosis to produce an unfertilized egg to create a male
homogametic & what form of hymoptera
forming gametes which all have the same type of sex c’some
diploid female (XX)
hemigametic
haploid male (X)
______ (diploid female) + _____ (haploid male) = fertilized egg –> ____ female
homogametic + Hemigametic –> diploid female
_______ (diploid female)–> unfertilized egg = _____ male
homogametic
haploid
what is a consequence of haplodiploid sex determination?
very closely realted
how is the haplodiploid sex determination a possible mechanism of social evolution in Hymenoptera?
Not direct fitness, but also related fitness acquired from siblings & cousins
Might be more advantageous to encourage the reproduction of your sister b/c they already have 75% of your genes
Eusociality is most recent in ______
halictid bees
what are the major social grps in Hymenoptera? (4)
termites
ants
wasps
bees
what are 3 exs of bees that are social?
honey bees
bumble bees
sweat bees
describe the social structure in honeybees
obligate asocial colony
Queen requires workers & vice versa
describe the social structure of bumble bees
each spring starts with a female that builds the nest & then when more females emerge, the queen lays eggs
what are the 4 characteristics of being social insects?
Build nests
Accumulate resources (large scale)
Powerful workforce (worker colonies)
Potentially much greater resources to take advantage of
describe the nesting & production of stingless bees
Nest in pre-existing cavities
Collect resins & mix with wax (they produce)
Have been harvested for pollination & honey production
Very social
robbery
Raiding other nests for resources
_____ raiders in the stingless bees (______)
obligate
cleptobiosis
describe how Lestrimelitta (stingless bees) acquire their resources
Raid colonies
Have a nest independent of host
Don’t collect resources from flowers etc., only acquire through raiding other nests (cleptobiosis) Create a scent that confuses host Some cluster & wait (don’t defend themselves or fight back), others actually collect resources
what are the 2 spp of bees that commit robbery?
Lestrimelitta (stingless bees)
Cleptotrigona
social parasites
Take over role of being queen
Rear offspring of social parasites (instead of rearing sister offspring)
what insects are social parasites?
bumble bees
sweat bees
allodapine bees
vespids
how does social parasitism occur in sweat bees?
Host builds underground burrow
Always has a guard worker (who allows access to the burrow)
another sweat bee (Lasioglossum lionotum) has big heads & mandibles – will fool guard to let it in & then live in nest after that
what do sweat bees do when they’re under attack?
If they are under attack they stick their anus out of the burrow (17)
describe social parasitism in bumble bees
No pollen collecting structures on legs, goes into other nests
Sneak in during the solitary phase & don’t do anything
Once the workers are active, they will lay eggs & overtake the colony
Others will kill queen
describe the nesting of Allodapines
have a nest inside a stem
live in twigs
larvae not in cells
Emery’s rule
social parasites are more related to hosts
why is Emery’s rule beneficial?
Allows them to take advantage of shared characteristics to gain access into nest
what are the 2 forms of Emery’s rule?
Sister spp (strict) Could be consistent with sympatric speciation
Closely related but not sis (not strict)
slave-making ants are similar to _____ & ____
parasites & robbers
describe the slave-making ant process
Queen acts like social parasite
Goes into nest & takes over role of queen
Makes her own workers – all they do is raid other nests for pupa
Raid other nests to acquire pupa, bring it back to the nest & raise them
When the pupa are older they will forage for the new colony
dulosis
Slave-making ant workers raid other colonies for workers
Slave maker Polyergus entirely dependent on host/slave ____
Formica
how does the slave-making ant queen gain access into a nest?
Female plays dead to gain access into the hive
Will attack & kill the queen once she has access
Spreads queens insides on her to acquire to her scent & take over hive
describe how ants farm aphids
Aphids secrete honeydew & the ants protect & exploit them
describe how ants farm fungi
Take leaves back to the nest to grow fungi & then eat it
