Reproductive conflicts are expected in societies where nonbreeding helpers retain the ability to produce offspring. Despite potential competition from reproductively capable nestmates in social wasps, egg laying tends to be monopolised by a single or relatively few queens. Genetic studies on reproductive partitioning in Polistes paper wasps suggest high reproductive skew in the genus. Conflict is thought to be minimal due to nestmate relatedness or the possibility of inheriting a reproductive monopoly on a nest; consequently, there are inclusive fitness opportunities for nonreproductive helpers. However, most studies are limited to temperate wasp species. Given the cosmopolitan distribution of Polistes, genetic data on group conflicts are required for a broader range of tropical species to determine whether these trends apply across climatic zones. We examined female reproductive skew in the Neotropical paper wasp Polistes lanio, genotyping a selection of adults and pupae from established post-emergence nests using single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). SNP-based pedigree analyses indicate a reproductive monopoly held by a single queen, with queen replacement from natal nestmates and evidence of possible multiple mating. Relatedness between pupal offspring was high (r = 0.71). It is likely that high reproductive skew among females is a founding trait of Polistes societies, conserved among species that have spread into new environments from Indomalayan origins.

中文翻译：

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新热带纸蜂 Polistes lanio 的高繁殖偏斜

在非繁殖帮手保留生育后代能力的社会中，预计会发生生殖冲突。尽管来自社会黄蜂中具有繁殖能力的同窝伴侣的潜在竞争，产卵往往由单个或相对较少的蜂王垄断。对 Polistes 纸黄蜂生殖分区的遗传研究表明该属的生殖偏度较高。由于同窝伴侣的亲缘关系或遗传对巢穴的生殖垄断的可能性，冲突被认为是最小的；因此，为非生殖帮手提供了包容性的健身机会。然而，大多数研究仅限于温带黄蜂物种。鉴于 Polistes 的全球分布，更广泛的热带物种需要有关群体冲突的遗传数据，以确定这些趋势是否适用于整个气候带。我们检查了新热带纸黄蜂 Polistes lanio 中的雌性生殖偏斜，使用单核苷酸多态性 (SNP) 从已建立的出苗后巢穴中对选定的成虫和蛹进行基因分型。基于 SNP 的谱系分析表明，单一蜂王拥有生殖垄断权，从出生的同巢伙伴中替换蜂王，并有可能多次交配的证据。蛹后代之间的相关性很高（r = 0.71）。雌性的高生殖偏差很可能是 Polistes 社会的基本特征，在从印度马拉雅起源扩散到新环境的物种中得到保护。基于 SNP 的谱系分析表明，单一蜂王拥有生殖垄断权，从出生的同巢伙伴中替换蜂王，并有可能多次交配的证据。蛹后代之间的相关性很高（r = 0.71）。雌性的高生殖偏差很可能是 Polistes 社会的基本特征，在从印度马拉雅起源扩散到新环境的物种中得到保护。基于 SNP 的谱系分析表明，单一蜂王拥有生殖垄断权，从出生的同巢伙伴中替换蜂王，并有可能多次交配的证据。蛹后代之间的相关性很高（r = 0.71）。雌性的高生殖偏差很可能是 Polistes 社会的基本特征，在从印度马拉雅起源扩散到新环境的物种中得到保护。