Physiological ecology of nest construction and protein flow in pre-emergence colonies of Polistes chinensis (Hymenoptera Vespidae): effects of rainfall and microclimates
The amount of oral secretion, which mostly consists of proteinaceous materials, used for the construction and maintenance of nests by foundresses of Polistes chinensis was analysed in 95 field nests (1994–1996). The amounts always exceeded 50% of mean percent secretion to total the dry nest weights, and it was greater in nests built at sites exposed to direct rainfall than in those at sheltered sites. Further, exposed nests built in 1995 (a rainy year) were much smaller than those of 1994 and 1996, and the amount of secretion in that year was much greater than in the other years. The nitrogen content of adult workers, immatures, those left inside cells and the oral secretion in nests of 1996 showed that 10–20% of total protein resources brought in during the founding phase may be devoted to producing the secretion. The results suggest that the foundresses may regulate the amounts of oral secretion used for such purposes in response to environmental conditions.