| Title: | Comparison of the External Morphology of the Sternal Glands for Hornets in the Genus Vespa |
| Author(s): | Mattila HR; Otis GW; Billen J; Nguyen LTP; Shimano S; |
| Address: | "Department of Biological Sciences, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA 02841, USA. School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada. Zoological Institute, University of Leuven, Naamsestraat 59, Box 2466, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium. Insect Ecology Department, Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi 10000, Vietnam. Science Research Center, Hosei University, Fujimi, Tokyo 102-8160, Japan" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 2079-7737 (Print) 2079-7737 (Electronic) 2079-7737 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Many social wasps in the speciose subfamilies Polistinae and Vespinae have two sternal glands-the van der Vecht gland and the Richards gland-that are not found in other insects. The presence of these glands has been confirmed in only 6 of 22 hornet species (genus Vespa) and images of their fine structure have not been produced. Here; we characterize the external morphology associated with both glands for workers of nine Vespa species using scanning electron microscopy. All hornets had similar gland configurations; although gland-associated external features differed among species. Scaled for size, glands were equivalently sized for the giant hornets (V. mandarinia and V. soror) and their closest phylogenetic relatives (V. tropica and V. ducalis). Relative size of gland-associated structures was reduced by half for V. simillima; V. velutina; and V. affinis workers. The remaining species (V. crabro and V. analis) had intermediately sized features. Differences among species in external gland structure were best explained by selective pressures related to predatory behavior, rather than defense of nests against ants. However, a lack of information about how Vespa workers use their van der Vecht and Richards glands limits a comparative interpretation of the function of their external gland morphology" |
| Keywords: | Richards gland Vespinae chemical defense exocrine glands giant hornets group predation pheromone communication social insects social wasps van der Vecht gland; |
| Notes: | "PubMed-not-MEDLINEMattila, Heather R Otis, Gard W Billen, Johan Nguyen, Lien T P Shimano, Satoshi eng 9338-13/National Geographic Society/ 106.05-2018.303/Vietnam National Foundation for Science and Technology Development/ QTBG01.01/21-22/Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology/ No number/Asahi Glass Foundation/ FY2020-22/Tokyo Metropolitan University Fund for TMU Strategic Research/ Switzerland 2022/02/26 Biology (Basel). 2022 Feb 5; 11(2):245. doi: 10.3390/biology11020245" |
