Amino acid composition of the protein in preemergence nests of Polistes (Polistes) riparius, and its similarity to the consubgeneric wasp, P. (P.) chinensis (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

Abstract

Amino acid composition of the protein in the oral secretion, which is widely used for construction and maintenance of social wasp nests, was analyzed in preemergence nests of Polistes (Polistes) riparius. The kinds and proportion (%) of amino acids of the protein detected from nests of P. riparius were very similar to those of a consubgeneric species, P. (P.) chinensis, but were conspicuously different from those of other social wasp genera. Further, it was estimated that protein contents in oral secretion of P. riparius were nearly the same as those of P. chinensis; namely, foundresses of P. riparius, which build much larger nests than those of P. chinensis, did not reduce relative protein contents to produce more oral secretion at a smaller cost. Amino acid composition may reflect phylogenetic relationships among wasp taxa.