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

Van Oystaeyen, Annette; van Zweden, Jelle S.; Huyghe, Hilde; Drijfhout, Falko; Bonckaert, Wim; Wenseleers, Tom

Abstract

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.

Citation

Van Oystaeyen, A., van Zweden, J. S., Huyghe, H., Drijfhout, F., Bonckaert, W., & Wenseleers, T. (2015). Chemical Strategies of the Beetle Metoecus Paradoxus, Social Parasite of the Wasp Vespula Vulgaris. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 41(12), 1137-1147. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-015-0652-0

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Nov 28, 2015
• Publication Date: 2015-12
• Deposit Date: Jun 15, 2023
• Journal: Journal of Chemical Ecology
• Print ISSN: 0098-0331
• Electronic ISSN: 1573-1561
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 41
• Issue: 12
• Pages: 1137-1147
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-015-0652-0
• Keywords: Biochemistry; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; General Medicine