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A Tale of Two Wasps and Why We Should Listen to It

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Journal of the Indian Institute of Science Aims and scope

Abstract

Hymenopterans present a fascinating diversity of social organisation, from solitary individuals building unprotected nests like the potter wasps to the very complex and highly organised societies of honey bees and most ants. A large number of paper wasps have intermediate levels of social complexity, and are designated as primitively eusocial, as they lack a morphologically distinct queen caste. Nevertheless, they have behaviourally distinct queens and workers, and are excellent model systems for understanding the intermediate steps in the process of social evolution, from solitary to complex social systems. Of the many facets of social organisation, the regulation of work in the colony and the establishment and maintenance of reproductive monopoly are the two aspects that are the most intriguing to sociobiologists. Ropalidia marginata and Ropalidia cyathiformis are two species of closely related paper wasps that are found in peninsular India, in the same habitat, and have much overlap in their ecology and ethology. However, this duo is also an interesting study in contrast in several aspects of social behaviour. Hence, together, they present an excellent opportunity for comparative study, to identify crucial steps in social evolution. In this article, we provide an overview of a series of studies that have been conducted by Prof. Raghavendra Gadagkar and his team over 4 decades at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, to unravel the evolutionary tale that these two species together elucidate.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Prof. Raghavendra Gadagkar for inviting us to write this review. We are highly emotionally invested in this review due to our association with the work reported. However, the task of reviewing work carried out over 4 decades was daunting, and we missed the many deadlines provided to us generously by the editor before delivering the draft manuscript. We thank him for his immense patience and trust in us.

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  1. Department of Zoology, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, Maharashtra, 400001, India

    Sujata Deshpande

  2. Behaviour and Ecology Lab, Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur, West Bengal, 741246, India

    Anindita Bhadra

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  1. Sujata Deshpande
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  2. Anindita Bhadra
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Correspondence to Anindita Bhadra.

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Deshpande, S., Bhadra, A. A Tale of Two Wasps and Why We Should Listen to It. J Indian Inst Sci 103, 1065–1092 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41745-023-00415-3

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