Consistent differences in behavior between individuals, otherwise known as animal personalities, have become a staple in behavioral ecology due to their ability to explain a wide range of phenomena. Social organisms are especially serviceable to animal personality techniques because they can be used to explore behavioral variation at both the individual and group level. Despite the success of p...

The cocoon, produced by most holometabolous insects, is built with silk that is usually produced by the larval salivary gland. Although this silk has been widely studied in the Lepidoptera, its composition and macromolecular arrangement remains unknown in the Hymenoptera. The macromolecular array patterns of the silk in the larval salivary gland of some meliponids, wasps, and ants were analyzed...

BACKGROUND Severe allergic reactions during rush-specific immunotherapy (Rush-SIT) may occur in the treatment of hymenoptera sting allergy. The objective of the present study was to examine the characteristics of allergic reactions during Rush-SIT in a cohort of patients with allergy towards hymenoptera venom in the mediterranean population of Albania. METHODS A retrospective study was perfor...

Zethus (Zethus) caetetus sp. nov. (Brazil) and Zethus (Zethus) flaviventris sp. nov. (Costa Rica) are described and figured. Both species belong to the Z. heydeni species group. A total of 218 species of Zethus are currently recognized for the Americas.

Swarm-founding 'Warrior wasps' (Synoeca spp.) are found throughout the tropical regions of South America, are much feared due to their aggressive nest defence and painful sting. There are only five species of Synoeca, all construct distinctive nests that consist of a single sessile comb built onto the surface of a tree or rock face, which is covered by a ribbed envelope. Although locally common...

We provide new data on the distribution and biology of three Stenodynerus species (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Eumeninae) from Panama: iolans (Cameron, 1905) is recorded for first time Panama; several localities are added to known in Panama S. farias (Saussure, 1857); otomitus 1857), currently as a ground-nester, was found emerging exposed cells together with Ipsiura pilifrons 1888) Chrysididae).

Statistic data and reports in specialized literature point to very frequent reactions to Hymenoptera venom; moreover the present stage of knowledge gained in the field of immunology allows us to establish the cases with local toxic reactions and those which involve a mechanism of allergical reaction. The Hymenoptera provided with a vulnerable sting apparatus consist of three families of social ...

The swarm-founding wasp Polybia emaciata is unusual among eusocial Vespidae because it uses mud, rather than wood pulp, as its primary nest construction material. Polybia emaciata nests are more durable than similarly sized paper nests. We tested the hypothesis that the defensive behavior of this wasp may have been modified to take advantage of their strong nests in defense against vertebrate a...

Social wasp colonies can be transferred to agroecosystems in order to control pest populations. Some failures of such transfers are common because wasps may abandon the nest immediately after the colony’s transfer. Knowing the nesting habits of wasps in agroecosystems could improve the success of colony transfer during wasp management. Thus, we recorded social wasp nests in a eucalyptus plantat...

Hymenoptera such as bees and social wasps are regular floral visitors in "campos rupestres" vegetation. A community of bees and social wasps was studied during floral visitation in an area of "campos rupestres", at Chapada Diamantina, BA, Brazil, from September 2001 to April 2002. The community was described in relation to diversity, evenness, and dominance rank, considering the individuals abu...