Alternative mating strategies in the digger wasp Philanthus zebratus Cresson.

Methods for the Collection of Venoms

Despite the early recognition (see Chapter 1) of the dangerous nature of the venom of bees, wasps and ants, it was the end of the nineteenth century before venoms started to attract the attention of medical research workers. A prerequisite to studies on the nature of the venoms was the development of methods for their collection. Before collection of venom could be possible, the Hymenoptera mus...

Morphology, Chemistry and Function of the Postpharyngeal Gland in the South American Digger Wasps Trachypus boharti and Trachypus elongatus

Microbes pose severe threats to animals as competitors or pathogens and strongly affect the evolution of life history traits like parental care. Females of the European beewolf Philanthus triangulum, a solitary digger wasp, provision their offspring with paralyzed honeybees and embalm them with the secretion from large postpharyngeal glands (PPG) that contain mainly unsaturated hydrocarbons. Th...

A Comparative Study of Mating Strategies in Two Species of Philanthus (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae)

'Candidatus Streptomyces philanthi', an endosymbiotic streptomycete in the antennae of Philanthus digger wasps.

Symbiotic interactions with bacteria are essential for the survival and reproduction of many insects. The European beewolf (Philanthus triangulum, Hymenoptera, Crabronidae) engages in a highly specific association with bacteria of the genus Streptomyces that appears to protect beewolf offspring against infection by pathogens. Using transmission and scanning electron microscopy, the bacteria wer...

Evolutionarily stable nesting strategy in a digger wasp.

Two alternative “strategies” will not coexist in a population unless on average they are equally successful. The most likely way for such an equilibrium to be maintained is through something equivalent to frequencydependent selection. Females of the digger wasp Sphex ichneumoneus (Sphecidae) nest in underground burrows. They usually dig and provision these by themselves but occasionally a nest ...