A grant has been awarded to Dr. Kurt M. Pickett of the University of Vermont's Department of Biology for the study of the sophisticated social structures found in yellowjacket and hornet colonies. Pickett, with collaborators Dr. Bryan Ballif (also of UVM) and Dr. James M. Carpenter (AMNH, New York), will investigate the evolutionary history of all yellowjackets and hornets worldwide. This phylogenetic investigation will rely on morphological, genetic and proteomic data. The team will investigate various aspects of the wasps' sophisticated sociality. Among these includes the amazing "superorganismic" interdependence of the members of the colonies, in which members function intimately, as a single unit. Just like cells in the human body, the castes of wasps have distinct physiological roles. In particular, it seems that only larvae colonies can digest food, effectively forming the stomach of the higher-level individual, the colony itself. This investigation will shed new evolutionary light on the origins of complex cooperation and division of labor.
The investigators will train undergraduate and graduate students and will create new content related to the research for the AMNH's award-winning OLogy, a free, science-rich website designed for learners aged 7 and up and their educators. In addition to producing manuscripts related to the wasps' behavior, the investigators will revise taxonomy and produce identification keys to all species. No adequate keys exist, and so the fully illustrated keys will greatly facilitate the education of undergraduates and other students beginning their studies in any aspect of yellowjacket and hornet biology, as well as function as a practical tool for applied workers.
