Colony defensive behavior by the swarm-founding wasp Parachartergus pseudoapicalis: increase on investment predicts the intensity of nest defense

Abstract

The parental investment (PI) theory predicts that animals that have the ability to care for their offspring should defend them with an optimal intensity to minimize the risks of predation. This study evaluates the stages of development that are more valued and, therefore, are more protected by the colonies of the founding wasp Parachartergus pseudoapicalis. We determined the effects on the colony defense intensity of colony size, adult population, and immature population size for different stages. As predicted by PI theory, we found that defense intensity was related to colony investment in offspring. In addition, we found no association between the number of adults in the colony and the defense intensity, whereas a greater number of immatures in the pupal stage in the colony led to greater defense intensity. Our study highlights the importance of parental care in social insects and the changes in defense behavior present in colonies with different compositions of individuals at different stages.