Social biology and network analysis of Mischocyttarus muisca Silveira, 2013 (Vespidae, Polistinae) and description of its nest and male genitalia

Mischocyttarus is one of the most diverse genera of social wasps and is sister to Polistes+Epiponini, placing it in a critical position to understand the evolution of sociality; however, its biology is known for only a handful of species. A colony captured in the field was followed in the laboratory for 5 months. The behavioral repertoire was characterized, and eleven indexes of network analyses were calculated on matrices of active and dominant behaviors for each of the four colony developmental stages. Male genitalia and nest architecture were described. A rich repertoire of 44 behaviors was recorded; many of these behaviors are present in other species of the genus. The network analyses revealed that M. muisca follows most of the social structures documented for Mischocyttarus. The explicit characterization of the social structure revealed changes in relationships among individuals along the development of the colony; this allowed us to postulate the individual that plays the role of queen. The male genitalia and the nest architecture of M. muisca exhibit the main characteristics observed in the subgenus M. (Phi).