REPRODUCTIVE CONDITION OF FEMALES IN SOME SWARM-FOUNDING WASPS IN PANAMA, AS COMPARED WITH SOME INDEPENDENT-FOUNDING SPECIES (HYMENOPTERA, VESPIDAE)

Each colony of four swarm-founding species of wasps collected on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, had multiple females with developed ovaries (having mature oocytes; potential egg-layers). In Polybia scrobalis su rinama and Synoeca septentrionalis, fewer than 5% of the females in th e colony had developed ovaries, notably lower fractions than in the fo ur independent-founding species, we studied so far. In Metapolybia azt eca and Protopolybia sp. on the other hand, more than 15% of the femal es had developed ovaries. In all the swarm-founding species, only inse minated females had developed ovaries in contrast to the independent-f ounders in which some uninseminated females had developed ovaries.