Chemical Strategies of the Beetle Metoecus Paradoxus, Social Parasite of the Wasp Vespula Vulgaris

The parasitoid beetle Metoecus paradoxus frequently parasitizes colonies of the common wasp, Vespula vulgaris. It penetrates a host colony as a larva that attaches itself onto a foraging wasp’s body and, once inside the nest, it feeds on a wasp larva inside a brood cell and then pupates. Avoiding de...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of chemical ecology 2015-12, Vol.41 (12), p.1137-1147
Main Authors: Van Oystaeyen, Annette, van Zweden, Jelle S, Huyghe, Hilde, Drijfhout, Falko, Bonckaert, Wim, Wenseleers, Tom
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
adults
aggression
Agriculture
Animal behavior
Animal populations
Animals
Biochemistry
Biological Microscopy
Biomedical and Life Sciences
brood cells
Chemical ecology
Coleoptera - growth & development
Coleoptera - physiology
Ecology
Entomology
Female
foraging
host specificity
Host-Parasite Interactions
Hydrocarbons
Hydrocarbons - chemistry
Hydrocarbons - metabolism
Hymenoptera
Insects
Larva - growth & development
Larva - parasitology
Larva - physiology
Life Sciences
Male
Parasites
parasitism
parasitoids
pheromones
Vespula germanica
Vespula vulgaris
Wasps - parasitology
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Summary:The parasitoid beetle Metoecus paradoxus frequently parasitizes colonies of the common wasp, Vespula vulgaris. It penetrates a host colony as a larva that attaches itself onto a foraging wasp’s body and, once inside the nest, it feeds on a wasp larva inside a brood cell and then pupates. Avoiding detection by the wasp host is crucial when the beetle emerges. Here, we tested whether adult M. paradoxus beetles avoid detection by mimicking the cuticular hydrocarbon profile of their host. The beetles appear to be chemically adapted to their main host species, the common wasp, because they share more hydrocarbon compounds with it than they do with the related German wasp, V. germanica. In addition, aggression tests showed that adult beetles were attacked less by common wasp workers than by German wasp workers. Our results further indicated that the host-specific compounds were, at least partially, produced through recycling of the prey’s hydrocarbons, and were not acquired through contact with the adult host. Moreover, the chemical profile of the beetles shows overproduction of the wasp queen pheromone, nonacosane (n-C₂₉), suggesting that beetles might mimic the queen’s pheromonal bouquet.
ISSN:0098-0331
1573-1561
DOI:10.1007/s10886-015-0652-0