This article is about the insect behavior. For other uses, see Usurper (disambiguation).
Bombus rupestris, a cuckoo bumblebee, killed by members of the Bombus lapidarius nest it was trying to usurp (image includes red-tailed Bombus lapidarius workers who died defending their nest)
Nest usurpation is when the queen of one species of eusocial insects takes over the colony of another species.
Cuckoo bumblebees (Psithyrus)[1] and cuckoo paper wasps (Polistes) are known for usurpation.[2]
Nest usurpation most frequently occurs during the late pre-emergence stage of a nest.[3] A foundress is a member of one species, usually female that finds a nest in the late pre-emergence stage and takes control of the colony of that nest.[3] The usurper or queen is a member of one species, usually female that gives raise to and controls the colony of a particular nest.[3] Usurpation can include killing the true queen, after which the usurper queen lays eggs then exploits the host workers (thus, no workers exist within the usurper species) to feed her and her developing young (brood parasitism) through pheromones and/or physical attacks.[4]
Among Metapolybia cingulata, it is very common to observe queens taking over other M. cingulata colonies, however it has also been noted that if the two colonies are similar enough, the exchange of workers or queens can be relatively smooth.[5]
^Goulson, Dave (2013). A Sting in the Tale. Random House. pp. 117–120. ISBN 978-1-4481-3008-5.
^Cervo, Rita; Macinai, Valentina; Dechigi, Fabio; Turillazzi, Stefano (December 2004). "Fast Growth of Immature Brood in a Social Parasite Wasp: A Convergent Evolution between Avian and Insect Cuckoos". The American Naturalist. 164 (6): 814–820. doi:10.1086/425987. ISSN 0003-0147.
^ abcMakino, Shun'ichi; Sayama, Katsuhiko (1991). "Comparison of intraspecific nest usurpation between two haplometrotic paper wasp species (Hymenoptera: Vespidae:Polistes)". Journal of Ethology. 9 (2): 121–128. doi:10.1007/BF02350216.
^Kawakita, Atsushi; Sota, Teiji; Ito, Masao; Ascher, John S.; Tanaka, Hiroyuki; Kato, Makoto; Roubik, David W. (2004). "Phylogeny, historical biogeography, and character evolution in bumble bees (Bombus: Apidae) based on simultaneous analysis of three nuclear gene sequences". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 31 (2): 799–804. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2003.12.003. PMID 15062814.
^Forsyth, Adrian B (1975). "Usurpation and Dominance Behavior in the Polygynous Social Wasp, Metapolybia cingulata (Hymenoptera: Vespidae; Polybiini)". Psyche: A Journal of Entomology. 82 (3–4): 299–303. doi:10.1155/1975/83143.
Nestusurpation is when the queen of one species of eusocial insects takes over the colony of another species. Cuckoo bumblebees (Psithyrus) and cuckoo...
is defined as whoever becomes the primary egg-layer in the nest. Typically, nestusurpation takes place during the pre-emergence phase or early emergence...
to get there. This makes it harder for B. hypnorum to defend nestusurpation in their nests. B. hypnorum has the biggest preference for the flowering trees...
"Rejection of Cowbird eggs by Mourning Doves: A manifestation of nestusurpation?" (PDF). The Auk. 115 (4): 1057–62. doi:10.2307/4089523. JSTOR 4089523...
Nehafta; Wang, Haitao (2018). "NestUsurpation between Mandarin Duck Aix galericulata and Coexisting Bird Species in Nest Boxes in a Secondary Forest, Zuojia...
females rearing their young in nests. Nestusurpation and stealing brood from those nests to feed young select for ground nest founding in these paper wasps...
Usurpation most likely occurs when the costs to a female of founding a new nest are greater than the costs of usurping another, already existing nest...
evolved as a behavioural strategy. Usurpation may have evolved from behaviours such as territorial attacks, nest raiding, nest site location, or reproductive...
; Deeby, T.; Gilley, D.C.; Degrandi-Hoffman, G. (2004). "Seasonal nestusurpation of European colonies by African swarms in Arizona, USA". Insectes Sociaux...
semenowi female enters the host nest for usurpation, she aggressively fights with the alpha P. dominula. If the usurpation is successful, the alpha P. dominula...
locations. This may be to minimize the nest's exposure to parasites and predators. This may also be to avoid nestusurpation by other females of A. manicatum...
rigid castes, and brood parasitism and usurpation have been observed between unrelated conspecifics. They nest in a variety of types of plants and human...
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made...
a physical advantage in usurpation, larger queens are more likely to found their own nests rather than usurp another. The nest aggregation of thousands...
8(4):93–123. Nesmith, C.C. and Cox, J. 1985. Red-winged blackbird nestusurpation by rice rats in Florida and Mexico. Florida Field Naturalist 13(2):35–36...
establish the nest either by the independent foundation like as other hornets, but it can also raise young through the usurpation of the nests of Vespa crabro...
Amar, Arjun (6 May 2016). "Is multiple nest building an adequate strategy to cope with inter-species nestusurpation?". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 16 (1):...
ashmeadi". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Clouse, R. M. (1995). "Nestusurpation and intercolonial cannibalism in Mischocyttarus mexicanus (Hymenoptera:...
bohemicus does not exhibit any nest-building behavior; instead, they move into newly established host nests and usurp the host queen. B. bohemicus parasitizes...
individuals in a nest. Cuckoo bumblebees are brood parasitic and do not make nests or form colonies; their queens aggressively invade the nests of other bumblebee...
The cardinals' nest is made of thin twigs, bark strips, and grasses, lined with grasses or other plant fibers. Males sometimes bring nest material to the...
is a species of social paper wasp known for having queens who exhibit usurpation behaviors and also for having flexible behavior groups. It is difficult...
time she begins seeking a nest to invade. Once she has located and infiltrated a host colony, the Psithyrus female usurps the nest by killing or subduing...
nests depending on how long their trip will be. For short flights, they exit the nest flying horizontally, while for long flights, they exit the nest...
This is a list of episodes for the American television sitcom Empty Nest, a spinoff of The Golden Girls that originally aired on NBC from October 8, 1988...
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