DYNAMICS OF COLONY DEVELOPMENT IN POLISTES-DOMINULUS - A MODELING APPROACH

A simple model based on feedback mechanisms is developed to describe t he dynamics of brood production and colony development of primitively eusocial paper wasps. The presence of pupae and empty cells stimulate egg laying, which varies between a basic rate and a physiological maxi mum. Newly hatched larvae are fed eggs, causing fluctuations in brood demography and forming cohorts of offspring. The basic feedback mechan isms produce emergent colony-level properties such as synchronized dev elopment of the brood and mature nest size. Results suggest that it is incorrect to imply colony decline from lack of nest growth, and that production of waves of offspring can be interpreted as the inevitable result of these simple feedback mechanisms rather than the solution to ultimate optimality criteria. Simulations using the parameters estima ted in Polistes dominulus Christ are compared to studies of live wasps to test the validity of the model. Comparing simulated results with a perturbation experiment in nature suggests that feedback relationship s establish a system that is robust and resilient against severe distu rbance.