Parischnogaster mellyi
| Parischnogaster mellyi | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Vespidae |
| Genus: | Parischnogaster |
| Species: | P. mellyi |
| Binomial name | |
|
Parischnogaster mellyi (De Saussure, 1852) |
|
| Synonyms | |
(de Saussure, 1852)
(Smith, 1857)
(Dover and Rao, 1922)
(von Schulthess, 1927)
(Pagden, 1962) |
|
(de Saussure, 1852)
(Smith, 1857)
(Dover and Rao, 1922)
(von Schulthess, 1927)
(Pagden, 1962)
Parischnogaster mellyi is a medium-sized species of a hover wasp in the family Vespidae. It is found in Southeast Asia and is widely spread in Thailand and Malaysia. Its nests feature flexible and dynamic qualities, and they are commonly seen under roofs of houses and huts in rural areas. Hovering and patrolling behaviors are the species’ main defining behavioral features, and such activities are closely linked to its mating patterns.
All hover wasp species were placed under one genus, Stenogaster, until 1927, when von Schulthess created the new genus, Parischnogaster, for species populated in Asia.Parischnogaster was synonymized with Holischnogaster by Carpenter in 1982, and it is possibly the largest and the least well known genus.
P. mellyi was first found by De Saussure in 1852. Understanding of phylogenetic background for P. mellyi is of particular importance because “the independence of origin and range of social organization in the Stenogastrinae make it an important group for the study of evolution of social behavior in the family Vespidae."
P. mellyi is considered a medium-sized wasp with an average length of 10mm. Its head is sub-triangular shaped with uniform facial coloration. It also has a well developed Dufour’s gland, which seems accountable for abundant abdominal secretion that plays an important role in egg development (see colony cycle for more detail). There are a number of morphological differences between gender: in terms of exocrine glands, tegumental glands in males are clustered along the anterior portion of the third gastral tergum, and ectal mandibular glands are three times wider and longer than those of females. Additionally, males have three white stripes on their tergites, while females do not carry such morphological features. It should also be noted that there are no phenotypical differences between females of different social status.
P. mellyi nests are known for their distinct combs at different levels of suspension. It builds nests with materials from three main sources: vegetation close to the nest, materials stolen from abandoned or occupied neighboring nests, and material removed from one cell, which is then used to start to enlarge a cell in the other part of the nest. Such recycling of the materials of the cells is frequently observed. A brand new cell is only built when there is no cell to shelter an anticipated egg. Material used for nest development has two important features: the cuticular cell layer of plants constitutes a substantial portion of the nest, and the texture of the nest material is of fine crumbs and small flakes. This kind of fragile aspect of the nest material might explain the low occurrence of large nests, and this may possibly hinder the evolution of large colony size. Its nesting structure is known for its flexibility, and thus lacks a typical shape or form. First off, cells modify its size with the changing size of the larva as it grows: the cell goes through a phase of regression until the cell size is equivalent to that of the growing larva. Then, both the larva and the cell starts to grow again in a similar fashion. Additionally, there is a general trend of decrease percent cell wall sharing with increase in suspension length. Typically, the nests are located on the strands of dead vegetation such as hanging vine tendrils or loose strands of thatch under the roofs of houses. The mean total suspension length of these nests is 18.4 cm and the mean suspension width is 0.64mm. The long and narrow shape of the nest also provides protection from predators.
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