Efeito das interações peptídeo-peptídeo e peptídeo-membrana nas atividades funcionais de toxinas peptídicas do veneno da vespa social Agelaia pallipes pallipes (Hymenoptera, Vespidae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Bioprospecção e caracterização químico-funcional de compostos orgânicos da baixas massas molecularesde venenos das vespas sociais: Agelaia pallipes pallipes, Agelaia vicina e Polybia paulista (Hymenoptera - Vespidae)

Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Biologia Celular e Molecular) - IBRC

Análise histoquímica comparativa das glândulas de veneno de abelhas Apis mellifera africanizada e das vespas Polistes versicolor, Agelaia palipes palipes e Polybia paulista

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Structural characterization of novel chemotactic and mastoparan peptides from the venom of the social wasp Agelaia pallipes pallipes by high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Agelotoxin: a phospholipase A(2) from the venom of the neotropical social wasp cassununga (Agelaia pallipes pallipes) (Hymenoptera-Vespidae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Bait and Habitat Preferences, and Temporal Variability of Social Wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) Attracted to Vertebrate Carrion

In addition to feeding on carrion tissues and fluids, social wasps can also prey on immature and adult carrion flies, thereby reducing their populations and retarding the decomposition process of carcasses. In this study, we report on the occurrence and behavior of social wasps attracted to vertebrate carrion. The collections were made monthly from September 2006 to October 2007 in three environments (rural, urban, and forest) in six municipalities of southeast Brazil, using baited bottle traps. We collected Agelaia pallipes (Olivier, 1791) (n = 143), Agelaia vicina (Saussure, 1854) (n = 106), Agelaia multipicta (Haliday, 1836) (n = 18), and Polybia paulista Ihering, 1896 (n = 3). The wasps were observed feeding directly on the baits and preying on adult insects collected in the traps. Bait and habitat associations, temporal variability of social wasps, and possible forensic implications of their actions are discussed.

Vespas sociais (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Polistinae) de floresta pluvial Amazônica de terra firme em Caxiuanã, Melgaço, Pará

As vespas sociais são notáveis por sua organização social complexa, arquitetura elaborada dos ninhos, e por seu papel em ecossistemas terrestres como predadores de outros insetos e artrópodes. O número de inventários de vespas sociais no Brasil ainda é pequeno, assim como os esforços para padronização dos protocolos de coleta, dificultando a comparação entre os resultados obtidos. A composição e a riqueza das vespas sociais na Floresta Nacional de Caxiuanã, Melgaço, PA, foram avaliadas através de um inventário estruturado numa parcela quadrada de 25 km² de floresta de terra firme. Os métodos de coleta empregados foram a "busca ativa por indivíduos e colônias em trilhas de 1.000m" e "armadilhas de Malaise". Foram registradas 65 espécies de vespas sociais pertencentes a 12 gêneros. Agelaia fulvofasciata (Deeger, 1773) e Angiopolybia pallens (Lepeletier, 1836) foram as espécies mais frequentes na área em ambos os métodos. Busca ativa apresentou um melhor desempenho quanto à descoberta de espécies de vespas sociais (63) do que armadilha de Malaise (26). O levantamento representou um incremento de 21 espécies à lista obtida anteriormente para Caxiuanã e de um novo registro para o estado do Pará (Polybia brunnea (Curtis, 1844)).

Occurrence of Hymenoptera on Sus scrofa carcasses during summer and winter seasons in southeastern Brazil

Considerable importance has been given to nest construction and larval food transport to the nest as a precondition for the eusociality of insects. Most adult hymenopterans feed on liquids, although bees and a few wasps may also feed on pollen. Carrion represents an additional source of protein for some species and they will scavenge for dead animals in the wild. This paper aims at analyzing Hymenoptera visitors on a pig carcass during the process of decomposition, in the summer of 2005 and the winter of 2006 in Brazil, and comparing the results with other studies in the Neotropical region. To our knowledge, this is the first study which described the occurence of Agelaia pallipes, Polybia paulista and Scaptotrigona depilis on decomposing carcasses in southeastern Brazil. It also raises the hypothesis of possible applications of Hymenoptera to achieve more precise PMI estimations, apart from other insects already known as having great importance in such estimates.

Comparative morphology of the mandibles of female polistine social wasps (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Polistinae)

Comparative morphology of the mandibles of female polistine social wasps (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Polistinae). Diversity of mandibular forms in female polistines is explored and compared among 116 species of all polistine genera. Inferences about function are made and discussed based on observed form differences. Mandible length and width measurements are analyzed for a subset of polistine species plus two vespines and two eumenines. A variable expressing the ratio between these variables is also considered in morphometric analyses. The following mechanical interactions among mandible structural elements are highlighted: opposition and crossing of mandibles' apical teeth at the middle of the closing trajectory; shearing action of the apical teeth against mesial denticles of the opposite mandible; shearing action of the mandible anterior margin against the ventral margin of the clypeus. In the genera Agelaia and Angiopolybia, exceptionally developed mesial mandibular structures may be related to necrophagy. In some epiponine genera, poorly developed mesial denticles and strong torsion of mandibles may be partially related to use of short wood fibers in nest construction as advanced by Sarmiento (2004). The considerable morphological variation found across the subfamily Polistinae is certain to be important in taxonomic and phylogenetic studies at the genus and species levels.

Local-scale spatial variation in diversity of social wasps in an Amazonian rain forest in Caxiuanã, Pará, Brazil (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Polistinae)

Polistine wasps are important in Neotropical ecosystems due to their ubiquity and diversity. Inventories have not adequately considered spatial attributes of collected specimens. Spatial data on biodiversity are important for study and mitigation of anthropogenic impacts over natural ecosystems and for protecting species. We described and analyzed local-scale spatial patterns of collecting records of wasp species, as well as spatial variation of diversity descriptors in a 2500-hectare area of an Amazon forest in Brazil. Rare species comprised the largest fraction of the fauna. Close range spatial effects were detected for most of the more common species, with clustering of presence-data at short distances. Larger spatial lag effects could also be identified in some species, constituting probably cases of exogenous autocorrelation and candidates for explanations based on environmental factors. In a few cases, significant or near significant correlations were found between five species (of Agelaia, Angiopolybia, and Mischocyttarus) and three studied environmental variables: distance to nearest stream, terrain altitude, and the type of forest canopy. However, association between these factors and biodiversity variables were generally low. When used as predictors of polistine richness in a linear multiple regression, only the coefficient for the forest canopy variable resulted significant. Some level of prediction of wasp diversity variables can be attained based on environmental variables, especially vegetation structure. Large-scale landscape and regional studies should be scheduled to address this issue.

Guia de identificação dos ninhos de vespas sociais (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Polistinae) na Reserva Ducke, Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil

Vespidae sociais utilizam principalmente material vegetal para a elaboração de seus ninhos. Embora existam alguns estudos referentes à fauna de vespas na região Amazônica, nenhum trabalho trata exclusivamente dos ninhos. Além disso, nas coleções biológicas poucos são os ninhos tombados, devido principalmente à fragilidade e difícil conservação dos mesmos. O objetivo desse trabalho foi o conhecimento de alguns ninhos encontrados na Reserva Ducke, apresentando informações a respeito dos mesmos e uma chave de identificação dos gêneros. Os ninhos foram coletados através da busca direta, percorrendo os transectos da grade do Programa de Pesquisa em Biodiversidade; locais como margens de igarapés, bordas de acampamentos e construções na sede da reserva também foram explorados. Para todos os ninhos obteve-se o registro fotográfico e a localização exata por GPS. Foram registrados 39 ninhos de vespas sociais alocados em 17 espécies de Polistinae: Agelaia constructor, A. pallipes, Angiopolybia pallens, Apoica pallens, Metapolybia unilineata, Mischocyttarus lecointei, M. saturatus, Polybia bistriata, P. dimidiata, P. jurinei, P. liliacea, P. occidentalis, P. procellosa, P. rejecta, Protopolybia bituberculata, P. chartergoides e Synoeca virginea. Cinco ninhos desabitados de Mischocyttarus, Polybia e Polistes também foram coletados.

Diversity and aspects of the ecology of social wasps (Vespidae, Polistinae) in Central Amazonian "terra firme" forest

Diversity and aspects of the ecology of social wasps (Vespidae, Polistinae) in Central Amazonian "terra firme" forest. The knowledge of social wasp richness and biology in the Amazonian region is considered insufficient. Although the Amazonas state is the largest in the region, until now only two brief surveys were conducted there. Considering that the systematic inventory of an area is the first step towards its conservation and wise use, this study presents faunal data on social wasp diversity in a 25 km² area of "terra firme" (upland forest) at the Ducke Reserve, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. Wasps were collected in the understory, following a protocol of three collectors walking along 60 trails 1,000 m in extension for 16 days between August and October 2010. Methods used were active search of individuals with entomological nets and nest collecting. Fifty-eight species of social wasps, allocated in 13 genera, were recorded; 67% of the collected species belong to Polybia, Agelaia and Mischocyttarus; other genera were represented by only four species or less. The most frequent species in active searches were Agelaia fulvofasciata (DeGeer, 1773), Agelaia testacea (Fabricius, 1804) and Angiopolybia pallens (Lepeletier, 1836). Twelve species were collected in nests. Prior to this study, 65 Polistinae species were deposited at the INPA Collection. Collecting in the study grid, an area not previously sampled for wasps, resulted in an increase of 25% species, and species richness was 86. According to the results, there is evidence that the diversity of social wasps at the Ducke Reserve is even higher, making it one of the richest areas in the Brazilian Amazonia.

Visitantes florais de Erythrina speciosa Andr. (Leguminosae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Occurrence of Hymenoptera on Sus scrofa carcasses during summer and winter seasons in southeastern Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

A comparative study of protein and enzymatic activity in venoms of some common wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) from São Paulo State

The Hymenoptera Aculeata venoms, with few exceptions, have been poorly studied and characterized. Nevertheless, they have raised increasing interest due to their medical importance, since accidents with these insects are fairly frequent in Brazil and may cause severe allergic reactions. The objectives of the present work were the quantitative characterization of the main allergenic enzymes present in the venom of the species Polybia paulista, Polybia ignobilis, Polistes simillimus, and Agelaia pallipes pallipes through biochemical assays for the determination of total protein content, as well as the level of the enzymatic activity of phospholipase, hyaluronidase, acid phosphatase and esterase. These results, in addition to providing biochemical knowledge about the venom of the species in question, also supply studies that allow phylogenetic inferences among them.