Natural History and Social Behaviour of the Cofoundresses in a Primitively Eusocial Wasp, Polistes stigma (FABRICIUS) (Hymenoptera : Vespidae), in India : A Case Study

Little information is available for the social biology of Polistes wasps in tropical Asia. The social behaviour of cofoundresses was described for P. stigma in Coimbatore (11°00'N, 76°57'E), Tamil Nadu, India. Agonistic interactions among cofoundresses were rare and mild but suggested the existence of dominance-subordination relationships, and the division of labour was recognized. The queen foundress performed cell initiation and oviposition, and received more flesh pellets from returned foragers. She foraged pulp for cell initiation but not other materials. The queen and subordinates tended to rub different parts of a nest, suggesting different functions. Although subordinates as a whole did all tasks for the colony, contributions to each task were very different among individuals. Some foragers initiated new cells and oviposited as well as the queen. Their oviposition was not interrupted by the queen, but all their eggs were eaten by her, resulting in functional monogyny. Some foragers started flesh foraging later than others which disappeared (probably died) in the early period. A part of cofoundresses did not substantively work for the colony. Changes in the time allocated to various spatial positions were distinctive among individuals, depending on their social activity. Each cofoundress subtly adjusted her behaviour in the foundress association.