Nest materials and some chemical characteristics of nests of a New World swarm-founding polistine wasp,Polybia paulista(Hymenoptera Vespidae)

Nest material, nitrogen and amino acid composition of nests were examined in a New World swarm-founding polistine wasp, Polybia paulista. This wasp used minute vegetable chips, which were a dominant material, plant hairs, and mud and/or inorganic particles as nest building materials. A SEM observation and nitrogen and amino acid contents indicated that the amount of oral secretion used for construction and maintenance of the nests was quite small, compared with that used in Polistes nests. Such a small amount of oral secretion used for nest building is considered to be associated with their social organization (division of labor) and nest material. This study hypothesized that the amounts of oral secretion used for nest building are determined by an interaction among social organization, nest material and environmental factors, such as precipitation. Twenty-four amino acids were detected from protein in the nests of P. paulista, of which serine, glycine, alanine, valine, proline, aspartic acid and glutamic acid were major components. Amino acid composition of the protein in the nests of P. paulista differed distinctly from those of other so far known polistine and vespine wasps. The present result supports the view that amino acid composition of the protein in nests reflects phylogenetical relationships among wasps.