. The Biological bulletin. Biology; Zoology; Biology; Marine Biology. 290 R L. JEANNE AND A. M. BOUWMA engaged in building. Meanwhile, the queens begin laying eggs in the cells. When the first comb reaches a certain size, the builders' behavior makes a qualitative shift (qualitative stigmergy; Camazine et ai, 2001). Instead of adding more cells to the edges of the comb, workers begin extending the outer walls of the peripheral cells downward and outward to initiate the envelope, starting at the back and sides of the comb. As this sheet grows, it is warped toward the center to form a domelike c
. The Biological bulletin. Biology; Zoology; Biology; Marine Biology. 290 R L. JEANNE AND A. M. BOUWMA engaged in building. Meanwhile, the queens begin laying eggs in the cells. When the first comb reaches a certain size, the builders' behavior makes a qualitative shift (qualitative stigmergy; Camazine et ai, 2001). Instead of adding more cells to the edges of the comb, workers begin extending the outer walls of the peripheral cells downward and outward to initiate the envelope, starting at the back and sides of the comb. As this sheet grows, it is warped toward the center to form a domelike covering about 2 cm below the comb (Fig. 1A). The envelope is not completely closed, however; a 1-cm opening is left in the front to provide an entrance to the comb. Then in the reverse qualitative shift, the second comb is immediately begun, the walls of its cells being drawn downward from the lower surface of the envelope just completed. This comb is expanded from the center (bottom) of the supporting envelope outward toward its margins (Fig. IB). A new envelope is constructed over it in the same manner as the first. Then the next comb is begun in the same way. The alternation between construction of combs and envelopes continues until the nest is large enough to house the adult wasps of the swarm and the brood they will rear. The entire construction process typically takes a week to 10 days. The nest remains at this size for many weeks or months; thereafter, enlargement occurs episodically (Wen- zel, 1993; AMB, unpubl. data). Thus the nests of P. occidentalis are modular, each mod- ule consisting of a comb and its envelope. Swarms work in complete modules: each comb + envelope module is con- structed to its final size before the next one is begun, and it is rare for a founding swarm, once it starts a new comb, to leave it half-finished or uncovered (RLJ and AMB. pers. obs.). P. occidentalis swarms vary widely in size, yet each is able to construct its nest with a number of ce
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Keywords: ., bookauthorlilliefrankrat, booksubjectbiology, booksubjectzoology
