Respiration and metabolism of the resting European paper wasp (Polistes dominulus)

The European paper wasp, Polistes dominulus Christ, is an abundant wasp species in South and Central Europe which dispersed to the north in recent times. Polistes dominulus exhibits an energy-extensive mode of life, spending much time resting at the nest, which should be reflected in adaptations regarding gas exchange and standard metabolism. We analysed the resting metabolism (CO(2) emission) of Polistes dominulus workers in the ambient temperature range an individual may be exposed to during a breeding season (T(a) = 2.4–40.6 °C) via flow through respirometry. Behaviour and endothermic activity were assessed by infrared thermography. With rising T(a), CO(2) release followed an exponential increase from 27 to 149 and 802 nl g(−1) min(−1) at T(a) = 3, 20 and 35 °C, respectively. Measurements of the thermal regime at the nest showed that resting P. dominulus are most of the time in the lower range of their standard metabolic curve. A comparison with a “highly energetic” wasp like Vespula sp. revealed that Polistes dominulus not only optimises behaviour but also reduces metabolism to save energy. The CO(2) emission patterns changed with ambient temperature, from discontinuous (≤25 °C) to cyclic (25–36 °C) and continuous gas exchange at higher temperatures. A pronounced break appeared in the data progression regarding cycle frequency and CO(2) emission per gas exchange cycle between 15 and 10 °C. This striking change in gas exchange features indicates a physiological adaptation to special respiratory requirements at low temperatures. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00360-015-0915-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorised users.