Phylogenetic studies suggest that historically all paper wasps (Vespidae: Polistinae) in North America have tropical origins. However, paper wasps have adapted to thrive in temperate conditions. Subtropical and temperate climates allow for a study of adaptive traits which can be retained or lost within populations, and ultimately help elucidate the process of social wasp evolution. Additionally, species occurrence patterns can help us to understand partitioning and resource use within populations. We investigated the occurrence and phenology of each Polistine species found at four sites in southern Louisiana around Baton Rouge, and also examined the occurrence and behavior of a closely associated brood parasite, Chalcoela iphitalis. Based on nest height analysis we found two statistically different groupings: lower nesting species (Mischocyttarus mexicanus, Polistes dorsalis, P. metricus) and higher nesting species (P. exclamans, P. fuscatus, P. bellicosus). Patterns of occurrence in wasp nest attachment substrate also were found, with 32% of all nests occurring on Sabal palmetto or Sabal minor. Two periods of nest initiation were observed: spring nests in March-May and late season or fall nests in July-September. Late season nests made up roughly 40% of all nests observed and were represented by all species. Late season nests of P. dorsalis, P. bellicosus, P. metricus, and M. mexicanus demonstrated a significantly shorter colony duration than did spring nests, however the highest number of adults recorded at the nest was significantly less only in P. bellicosus. Results suggest niche portioning between species in relation to nest site usage, as well as a possible bivoltine colony cycle in some paper wasp species of southern Louisiana.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LSU/oai:etd.lsu.edu:etd-04052017-091224 |
| Date | 04 May 2017 |
| Creators | Nacko, Scott |
| Contributors | Henderson, Gregg, Healy, Kristen, Huang, Fangneng |
| Publisher | LSU |
| Source Sets | Louisiana State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04052017-091224/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached herein a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to LSU or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below and in appropriate University policies, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
Page generated in 0.0018 seconds