title: Cuticular hydrocarbons of Polistes dominulus as a biogeographic tool: a study of populations from the Tuscan Archipelago and surrounding areas.
abstract: In social insects, the types and proportions of epicuticular lipids may exhibit significant diversity as a result of factors such as age, sex, caste, rank, nest, and relatedness. It is known that these variations can be used by social insects to acquire information regarding conspecific individuals. Recent findings have shown that different populations of Polistes dominulus (Christ.) have distinctly different chemical cuticular profiles, and that wasps are able to recognize individuals of their own population. In this study, we showed that cuticular hydrocarbon patterns of Polistes dominulus are consistent with similarities among northern Tyrrhenian islands, as reported in previous biogeographic studies. Indeed, our findings indicate that cuticular hydrocarbon mixtures of P. dominulus from Capraia and Corsica are grouped together by cluster analysis, while those from Elba and Giglio cluster with cuticular profiles of the mainland wasps (Venturina).
authors.affiliation: Centro Interdipartimentale Museo di Storia Naturale e del Territorio Università di Pisa, via Roma 79, 56011, Calci (PI), Italy. leondap@katamail.com
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dapporto
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Palagi
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Turillazzi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D005843:Geography; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D007558:Italy; D008055:Lipids / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D011153:Population; D013045:Species Specificity; D014863:Wasps / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D006838:Hydrocarbons; D019476:Insect Proteins; D008055:Lipids; C047663:cuticle proteins, insects