Extremely high levels of inbreeding in a natural population of the free-living wasp Ancistrocerus antilope (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae)

Abstract

An isozyme study was conducted on a natural population of the solitary trap-nesting eumenid wasp, Ancistrocerus antilope (Panzer). The inbreeding coefficient was estimated to be 0.757 over seven loci from 322 diploid individuals collected from 108 trap nests. This inbreeding coefficient corresponds to a mixed-mating system with 91.3 per cent of matings occurring between brothers and sisters and the remaining matings occurring randomly. This is the highest inbreeding coefficient yet reported for a free-living Hymenopteran species. If such a high inbreeding level was present in the common ancestor of the Eumeninae and Vespinae, it may have facilitated the evolution of eusociality among the Vespinae. © 1996 The Genetical Society of Great Britain.