Genotypes at 10 microsatellite loci for 8 perennial, polygyne colonies of Vespula squamosa

Many highly social species show plasticity in their social structure in
response to different environmental conditions. For example,
typical colonies of the yellowjacket wasp Vespula squamosa are headed by a
single reproductive queen and survive for only a single season. However,
in warmer climates, V. squamosa colonies sometimes persist for multiple
years and can grow to extremely large size. We used genetic markers to
understand patterns of reproduction and recruitment within these perennial
colonies. We genotyped V. squamosa workers, pre-reproductive queens, and
males from perennial colonies in the southeastern United States at 10
polymorphic microsatellite loci and one mitochondrial DNA locus. We found
that V. squamosa from perennial nests were produced by multiple
reproductives, in contrast to typical annual colonies. Relatedness of
nestmates from perennial colonies was significantly lower than relatedness
of nestmates from annual colonies. Our analyses of mitochondrial DNA
indicated that most V. squamosa perennial colonies represented semi-closed
systems whereby all individuals belonged to a single matriline despite the
presence of multiple reproductive females. However, new queens
recruited into perennial colonies apparently mated with non-nestmate
males. Notably, perennial and annual colonies did not show
significant genetic differences, supporting the hypothesis that perennial
colony formation represents an instance of social phenotypic
plasticity. Overall, our results indicate that perennial V.
squamosa colonies show substantial changes to their social biology
compared to typical annual colonies.