First record of eugregarines (Apicomplexa: Eugregarinorida) parasitizing the neotropical social wasp Polistes versicolor (Vespidae: Polistinae) in Brazil

ABSTRACT

The study of social wasp biology is often focused on understanding the factors involved in the evolution of social behavior. However, despite the importance of parasitism for the fitness of social insect colonies, little is known about the presence of parasitic protozoan infections in Neotropical social wasp populations. Herein, we report the first recorded occurrence of eugregarines in the midgut of the paper wasp Polistes versicolor. Our study shows 46% of the adults (n = 50) in the studied population were infected with gregarine trophozoites. No protozoans were identified in any of the sampled larvae (n = 14). This new record may indicate the existence of a new taxon within Order Eugregarinorida.

KEYWORDS:

• Gregarines
• independent-founding
• paper wasp
• parasites
• protozoans

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Victor Araújo Franzone Vital and Fabiola da Silva Costa for their support in laboratory analysis. Additional thanks to the reviewers for their valuable suggestions during the revision of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF), the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), and the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG).