| Budget Amount *help |
¥1,400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000)
Fiscal Year 1997: ¥500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000)
Fiscal Year 1996: ¥900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000)
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| Research Abstract |
The followings were studied during 1996 and 1997.
(1) "Binding of nest material in the Stenogastrine wasps". We analyzed chemically a nest of Eustenogaster calvptodoma, and first confirmed the occurrence of a few amounts of oral secretion in this primitive subfamily (published in Jpn.J.Entomol.).
(2) "Use of oral secretion in the nest construction, with reference to protein flow in colonies of a paper wasp, Polistes chinensis". Ample oral secretion that bind woody fiberswas separated from its nests. This substance is originated from animal diet foraged outside, and it might contribute to make light and tough paper that should have enabled large nests and colonies. N-quantity in the secretion showed that > 10% of total protein resource brought into the colony was used for the construction and maintenance of nest. This may change our view that major cost of nest construction is the collection of plant material. Presented at "3rd APCE" (Taiwan in November 1997, and the paper has been accepted by Ethol., Ecol.& Evol.). 24 kinds of amino acids were detected from the oral secretion, of which Glycin, Prorin, Alanin, Serin and Balin were major components.
(3) "Comparison of investment of labor in the nest construction by foundresses at different latitudes". Polistes riparius, distributed in Hokkaido builds a functional envelope consisted of long cells and peripheral empty cells. Contrasting to this, Polistes chinensis, inhabiting warmer districts, never builds such the structure. We compared nest parameters and nest material composition between two species. The results suggests that the foundress of P.riparius invests twice as much labor as P.chinensis in the pre-emergence nests, probably to keep warmth of solar radiations (submitted to Insectes Sociaux).
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