O comportamento de machos de Mischocyttarus nomurae influencia o fitness?

Abstract

In eussocial insects, subordinate females perform brood care as a way to obtain direct and indirect fitness. Some observed behaviors are the distribution of food to sister larvae and the protection against invaders to the nest. Males have a short life and, in general, do not participate in these tasks. However, data on the behavior of males of social hymenopterans are still scarce. This scientific gap is even deeper if we consider tropical eussocial wasps that are endemic to Brazil. This study aimed to identify differences in the behavior of males and females of Mischocyttarus nomurae, investigating whether the number of offspring is related to the behavior of males and females. 46 nests were sampled at the UFC Campus do Pici. After a 14-month demographic census aiming to monitoring the population on campus, experiments were carried out, in situ, in 28 nests. Two measures of boldness and one of brood care were measured. A total of 48 males and 352 females responded to 3 tests. A positive and significant relationship was found between reproductive success (number of immature) and the number of females per nest, but not with the number of males. Females were significantly bolder and spent more time distributing a food resource to immature wasps. There was no significant difference between males and females in the time to leave the nest, and nests with a higher number of cells showed wasps that flew from the nest more quickly. Our results indicate that males, despite occasionally performing some tasks in the nest, are not determinants for reproductive success. However, the negative correlation between the time to escape from the nest and the size of the nest suggests that males and females that are more "fearful" have a reproductive advantage. Finally, brood care by males in the presence of females occurs, but sporadically.