Recognition and social dominance in Polistes wasps

It has been known for a long time that relationships among female Polistes wasps are controlled by dominance through linear hierarchy. A classical model of the development of social hierarchies suggests that individual recognition intervenes to maintain the hierarchy established after the initial co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of ethology 1997, Vol.15 (1), p.55-59
Main Author: Pratte, M
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:It has been known for a long time that relationships among female Polistes wasps are controlled by dominance through linear hierarchy. A classical model of the development of social hierarchies suggests that individual recognition intervenes to maintain the hierarchy established after the initial confrontation that takes place when two animals meet for the first time. This hypothesis was tested in the present study on Polistes gallicus (L.) foundresses. A tolerance index was calculated from the reactions of a dominant female when already known or unacquainted females were successively encountered. Results show that individualised social recognition is possible and that it takes more than 4 h of inter-individual contact for individual characteristics to be memorised.
ISSN:0289-0771
DOI:10.1007/BF02767326