Observation of intra- and interspecific differences in the nest chemical profiles of social wasps (Hymenoptera: Polistinae) using infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore whether the nest chemical profile (NCP) can be used to determine intra- and interspecific differences in social wasps of the subfamily Polistinae. For this purpose, Fourier transform infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy (FTIR-PAS) was used to directly analyze small pieces of nest as well as the gasters of females. An advantage of the methodology was that no sample preparation was required. FTIR-PAS combined with multivariate discriminant analyzes was used, to the best of our knowledge for the first time, to evaluate the NCPs of six species of polistine wasps, observing the influence of the nesting environment and investigating the relationships among the nest and female cuticular chemical profiles. The results revealed significant inter-species differences among the NCPs, as well as strong correlations with the environments in which the nests were located. The Mischocyttarus and Polistes species belong to the same tribe (Polistini) and therefore exhibited similar NCPs. These species were separated from the Polybia species in the NCP dendrogram, mainly because the Polybia belong to another tribe (Epiponini). Correlation was observed between the NCPs and the cuticular chemical profiles of females. The findings of the study demonstrated the importance of the NCP for differentiation of species and environments, and the utility of FTIR-PAS for identification of correlations between individuals and nests. The results confirmed the hypothesis that the NCP can be used as an additional tool for intra- and interspecific differentiation in social wasps of the subfamily Polistinae.

Keywords: FTIR-PAS; Hydrocarbons; Nest chemical profile; Paper wasps; Polistes; Polistinae.