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Review
. 2023 May 19;11(5):1340.
doi: 10.3390/microorganisms11051340.

Mutualistic Relationships between Microorganisms and Eusocial Wasps (Hymenoptera, Vespidae)

Stefano Turillazzi  1   2   3 , Niccolò Meriggi  1   2 , Duccio Cavalieri  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Mutualistic Relationships between Microorganisms and Eusocial Wasps (Hymenoptera, Vespidae)

Stefano Turillazzi et al. Microorganisms. .

Abstract

Eusocial wasps are represented in the Vespidae by the subfamilies Stenogastrinae, Vespinae and Polistinae. These wasps present colonies that are sometimes composed of thousands of individuals which live in nests built with paper materials. The high density of the adult and larval population, as well as the stable micro environment of the nests, make very favourable conditions for the flourishing of various types of microorganisms. These microorganisms, which may be pathogens, are beneficial and certainly contribute to model the sociality of these insects. The mutualistic relationships that we observe in some species, especially in Actinomycete bacteria and yeasts, could have important fallouts for the development of new medicines and for the use of these insects in agricultural environments.

Keywords: antimicrobial secretions; bacteria; fungi; mutualistic symbioses; social wasps; viruses; yeasts.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Simplified phylogenetic tree and evolutionary timescale of Vespidae inferred from mtgenome PCG12R Protein Coding Genes datasets. Eusociality evolved twice, once in the Stenogastrinae and once in Vespinae + Polistinae. Numbers represent millions of years. Four non-eusocial subfamilies (Gayellinae, Euparaginae, Masarinae, Zethinae) are not considered (from Huang et al., 2019 [4], redrawn).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Social wasp Polistes dominula foraging on ripe grapes to acquire sugars. The photo was taken at the end of August in Castagneto Carducci (LI), Tuscany, Italy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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