Field wasps

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Field wasps
Gallic field wasp (Polistes dominula)

Gallic field wasp ( Polistes dominula )

Systematics
Superordinate : New winged wing (Neoptera)
Order : Hymenoptera (Hymenoptera)
Subordination : Waist Wasps (Apocrita)
Superfamily : Vespoidea
Family : Wasps (Vespidae)
Subfamily : Field wasps
Scientific name
Polistinae
Lepeletier , 1836

The field wasps ( Polistinae) are a subfamily of the folded wasps (Vespidae). About 630 species are known worldwide. Most species live in the tropics and subtropics , only six species, all of which belong to the genus Polistes , also live in Central Europe.

Similarities with real wasps

Ropalidia plebeiana

Field wasps are quite similar in appearance and behavior to the real wasps (Vespinae). The Central European species (of the genus Polistes ) also have the typical black and yellow warning color , and they are eusocial in small peoples. Both subfamilies build nests out of a paper-like material made from chewed wood fibers . Therefore, they are referred to as paper wasps, unlike the Lehmwespen that their nests mainly with or in clay or loess build.

Nest building

When building nests, however, there are also significant differences to the real wasps:

  • As with real wasps, the nest is usually founded by a single female (queen) ( haplometrotic ). Occasionally, however, the founding of nests by several females (queens) can also be observed ( pleometrotic ). Polygyny often occurs during nest care, so a colony can be cared for by several females (queens) (polygynous nests). Usually sister animals come together for this community care. Field wasps can distinguish familiar and unfamiliar conspecifics by features of the head. This was demonstrated by a series of tests with Polistes fuscatus .
  • Honeycombs and colonies are significantly smaller than those of the more common and well-known real wasps.
  • All wild wasp species build their combs at a slightly inclined vertical position and without a protective cover, the combs are always open and exposed.

The wasps attach their small combs to plants and other suitable substrates such as wood and stones with a central stem . The usually quite short stalk between the honeycomb and the substrate serves as a narrow point that is easy to defend against ants. Usually the nests are built in heat-favored, south-exposed places, the Gallic Wasp ( Polistes dominula ) shows a tendency to synanthropy , i. that is, it often uses habitats in settlement areas.

If the temperature in the nest rises too high, the wasps will settle on the upper edge of the honeycomb in order to transport the excess heat away using wing fans. In addition, water can be introduced in order to provide further cooling due to the evaporation cold. In this way, a constant nest temperature of 30–35 ° C can be achieved during the day.

Field wasps can store smaller drops of nectar in empty cells, which of course must have a sufficiently firm consistency.

Parasitism

In the genus Polistes there are three socially parasitic species that are closely related to one another. These were previously summarized in the subgenus Sulcopolistes .

The parasitic wasp Latibulus argiolus (Rossi, 1790) plays a role as a parasite in Polistes . Field wasps of the genus Polistes continue to be infested by parasitoid fan-winged birds of the species Xenos vesparum .

Systematics (incomplete)

Gallic Wasp Nest
Gallic field wasp

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Michael J. Sheehan, Elizabeth A. Tibbetts: Robust long-term social memories in a paper wasp , Current Biology, 18 (18): R851-R852, September 23, 2008. doi: 10.1016 / j.cub.2008.07.032 (open access)

Web links

Commons : Feldwespen (Polistinae)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files