The role of juvenile hormone in dominance behavior, reproduction and cuticular pheromone signaling in the caste-flexible epiponine wasp, Synoeca surinama

The role of juvenile hormone in dominance behavior, reproduction and cuticular pheromone signaling in the caste-flexible epiponine wasp, Synoeca surinama

Frontiers in Zoology, October 2014

25371699

Hans C Kelstrup, Klaus Hartfelder, Fabio S Nascimento, Lynn M Riddiford

The popular view on insect sociality is that of a harmonious division of labor among two morphologically distinct and functionally non-overlapping castes. But this is a highly derived state and not a prerequisite for a functional society. Rather, caste-flexibility is a central feature in many eusocial wasps, where adult females have the potential to become queens or workers, depending on the social environment. In non-swarming paper wasps (e.g., Polistes), prospective queens fight one another to assert their dominance, with losers becoming workers if they remain on the nest. This aggression is fueled by juvenile hormone (JH) and ecdysteroids, major factors involved in caste differentiation in most eusocial insects. We tested whether these hormones have conserved aggression-promoting functions in Synoeca surinama, a caste-flexible swarm-founding wasp (Epiponini) where reproductive competition is high and aggressive displays are common.