Abstract
Among Vespinae both the queen and the workers build cells of a typical architectural design which are suitable for rearing a brood. In the case ofVespa orientalis, but not in the speciesV. crabro, Paravespula vulgaris,P. germanica, Dolichovespula saxonica, orD. media, groups of workers of various ages which are kept in artificial breeding boxes in the absence of a queen continue to build new cells and even entire combs. Workers which are deprived of a queen build worker cells but not queen cells. The construction commences from a central point where the workers had congregated for a while. The site of construction can be preselected by intentionally directing the workers to rest in a particular spot. Once the building has been initiated, the workers will persist building in the same spot over and over again, even after any imposed limitation has been removed. In this last respect,Polistes foederatus emulatesV. orientalis. From the above results, it would seem that hornets resting in a particular spot for a length of time deposit there a substance—probably volatile—which induces assembly of hornets in that spot. Furthermore, the hornets deposit there the same or another substance which stimulates the initiation of building. It is proposed to name this substance a building initiating pheromone. A distinction should be made between the building pheromone released by the workers and usually initiating the building and similar pheromones released by the queen which are capable of either initiating or restricting the building.
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Ishay, J.S., Perna, B. Building pheromones ofVespa orientalis andPolistes foederatus . J Chem Ecol 5, 259–272 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00988240
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00988240