Browsing by Author "Zucchi, Ronaldo."
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Evolution of caste in neotropical swarm-founding wasps (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Epiponini). American Museum novitates ; no. 3467(New York, NY : American Museum of Natural History, 2004) Noll, Fernando B. (Fernando Barbosa); Wenzel, John W.; Zucchi, Ronaldo.Reproductive castes are compared in species of swarming wasps representing all currently recognized genera of Epiponini (Polistinae). New morphometric data for nine measures of body parts and ovarian data are presented for 13 species. These are integrated with all similarly conducted available studies, giving a total of 30 species. Analysis reveals several syndromes relating reproductive and nonreproductive individuals: no meaningful distinction, physiological differences only, reproductives larger than nonreproductives with intermediate individuals present, reproductives different in shape from nonreproductives with no intermediates, and reproductives smaller in some aspects than nonreproductives. Distribution of these syndromes among species is consistent with phylogenetic relationships derived from other data. Optimizing these syndromes on the cladogram indicates that the basal condition of Epiponini is a casteless society that is not comparable to the primitively social genus Polistes where dominant queens control reproduction. Castes originate several times in Epiponini, with different results in different lineages. The best documented evolutionary sequence passes from casteless societies, to those with reproductives larger, to those with reproductives differing in shape from nonreproductives, to those with reproductives smaller in some measures. This sequence is consistent with Wheeler's theory of the origin of caste through developmental switches, and represents the most thorough test of that theory to date.Item Phylogenetic analysis of the neotropical Pseudopolybia de Saussure, 1863, with description of the male genitalia of Pseudopolybia vespiceps (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Epiponini) ; American Museum novitates, no. 3586(New York, NY : American Museum of Natural History, 2007) Andena, Sergio Ricardo.; Noll, Fernando B. (Fernando Barbosa); Carpenter, James M. (James Michael), 1956-; Zucchi, Ronaldo.The male genitalia of Pseudopolybia vespiceps are described and compared to congeners. Characters of the male genitalia are combined with morphological characters of the females and nests and used in a phylogenetic analysis. The single cladogram resulting supports monophyly of the genus Pseudopolybia and interrelationships among the species as: P. langi + (P. difficilis + (P. compressa + P. vespiceps)). A new, illustrated identification key is presented.