Social evolution in Australian Ropalidia wasps

在澳大利亚昆虫学家的合作下，用两年时间(1993和1994)对六种澳大利亚刺参的社会行为和社会结构进行了研究。对革命刺参和变色刺参雌性个体的观察表明，它们在羽化前群体内的优势关系较弱，而在羽化后群体内的优势关系较严重。这不同于另一种在洞穴中筑巢的原始群居物种--群居罗非鱼。与其他澳大利亚原始群居罗非鱼不同，尖头罗非鱼雌性经常通过单雌性基础筑巢。研究发现，高度社会性物种罗曼底罗非鱼是通过群居方式筑巢的，该种群首先构建多个梳子，然后构建信封。这是首次详细记录蜂群建立巢的初始阶段。许多成年标本取自原始社会性的群居创始物种R.Social alistic和高度社会性的群居创始人R.Romdi Cabeti的许多巢。社会行为、社会结构和有效产蛋数的比较研究表明，刺参属是一个包含136种的大属，有3个主要类群：个体创始的、原始性的共生种(如革命刺参)、群立性的、原始性的共群性种(如马尾鱼)和群立性的高度共性的多种皇后刺参。第二类群被认为是兼性一夫多妻性的、原始的共生社会性物种如R.Revolutionalis和R.gregaria与多女王物种R.Romdi之间的联系。

Studies on social behavior and social structure of six Australian species of the genus Ropalidia were made during two years (1993 and 1994) with cooperation of Australian entomologists. Observations of marked females of Ropalidia revolutionalis and R.sp.nr.Variegata showed that their intracolony dominance relations were mild in pre-emergence stage but severe in post-emergence stage A swarm-founding, primitively eusocial species, R.mackaynsis constructed its nest in open space while the nest had no envelope. This is different from another swarm-founding, primitively eusocial species, R.socialistica, which produced nests in cavities.Contrary to other Australian primitively eusocial Ropalidia, R.gregaria spilocephala females founed their nests frequently by haplometrosis (single-female foundation).It was found that a highly eusocial species R.romandi cabeti founded their nest by swarming, and the swarm first constructed several combs and then constructed envelope. This is the first detailed record of the initial stage of nest foundation in swarm-founders.Many adult specimens were taken from many nests of a primitively eusocial, swarm founding species R.socialistica, and a highly eusocial swarm-founder, R.romandi cabeti. These were immediately frozen for future analysis with electrophoresis and DNA-finger printing technique, to estimate the intracolony relatedness.Comparative studies on social behavior, social structure and number of effective egg-layrs indicated that the genus Ropalidia, a large genus including 136 species, has three majour groups, individually-founding, primitively eusocial-species (e.g.R.revolutionalis), swarm founding, primitively eusocial species (e.g.R.mackaynsis) and swarm-founding, highly eusocial, multiqueen species, Ropalidia romandi. The second group was suggested to be a link between facultatively polygynous, primitively eusocial species as R.revolutionalis and R.gregaria and multiqueen species as R.romandi.