Brood reduction caused by sibling cannibalism in Isodontia harmandi (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae), a solitary wasp species building communal brood cells.

ABSTRACT: Sibling rivalry or brood reduction prevailing within bird nests is effectively avoided in solitary aculeate nests because the larvae of wasps and bees usually develop in each brood cell. However, a solitary wasp species, Isodontia harmandi, allows us to study brood reduction in a communal brood cell, where up to a dozen larvae develop in a group relying on prey provisioned by a female wasp. To demonstrate brood reduction in this species, we collected nests at various developmental brood stages from fields for five years (2010-2015). There was a significant decrease in the brood size between the nests sampled at the egg or hatchling stages and those at later stages when analyzing only data excluding nests that were parasitized, attacked by predators, or containing deteriorated prey. In whol

SUBMITTER: Imasaki Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9116661 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature