Ropalidia sumatrae (Sumatran Paper Wasp)
Unlike the banded paper wasp, the Sumatran paper wasp nests in much larger colonies; a local sighting documents a large swarm within a cavity in a tree. This suggests that this species nests in holes, and is a swarm-founding species, in which new colonies are formed by fission of pre-existing colonies; after being fertilised, a queen leaves the colony she was born in, bringing with her a swarm of workers that quickly establish and build a new colony.
This is in stark contrast to that of the banded paper wasp, which practises independent-founding; a queen starts a new colony from scratch on her own, unassisted by any workers. In some cases, she may build the colony together with other fertile females, who will share reproductive and worker duties until the colony produces enough workers. In such species, the workers themselves may even be fertile. Colonies of these species remain small, and never attain the sizes seen in the swarm-founding species.
Indeed, the diversity of nesting habits in Ropalidia paper wasps means that they are the subject of study, as they may reveal clues to the evolution of eusocial insects.
Ropalidia sumatrae (Sumatran Paper Wasp)
Unlike the banded paper wasp, the Sumatran paper wasp nests in much larger colonies; a local sighting documents a large swarm within a cavity in a tree. This suggests that this species nests in holes, and is a swarm-founding species, in which new colonies are formed by fission of pre-existing colonies; after being fertilised, a queen leaves the colony she was born in, bringing with her a swarm of workers that quickly establish and build a new colony.
This is in stark contrast to that of the banded paper wasp, which practises independent-founding; a queen starts a new colony from scratch on her own, unassisted by any workers. In some cases, she may build the colony together with other fertile females, who will share reproductive and worker duties until the colony produces enough workers. In such species, the workers themselves may even be fertile. Colonies of these species remain small, and never attain the sizes seen in the swarm-founding species.
Indeed, the diversity of nesting habits in Ropalidia paper wasps means that they are the subject of study, as they may reveal clues to the evolution of eusocial insects.