REPRODUCTIVE PLASTICITY IN YELLOWJACKET WASPS: 
A POLYGYNOUS, PERENNIAL COLONY OF 
VESPULA MACULIFRONS 
By Kenneth G. Ross* and P. Kirk Visscher 
Department of Entomology 
Cornell University 
Ithaca, NY 14853 
Introduction 
Social wasps in the family Vespidae are thought to have origi- 
nated in the southeast Asian tropics (Richards, 1971; Spradbery, 
1973a; but see Carpenter, 1982). Members of the subfamily Vespi- 
nae presumably evolved monogyny and an annual colony cycle as 
adaptations to cold winters in north temperate regions. Exceptions 
to this characteristic social organization and colony ontogeny in 
vespines have become increasingly apparent (Ross & Matthews, 
1982). In climatically favorable areas of their natural range (Tissot 
& Robinson, 1954; Duncan, 1939; Vuillaume et al., 1969; Akre et 
al., 1980), and in areas newly colonized (Spradbery, 1973b; Perrott, 
1975; Thomas, 1960) several species of Vespula (subgenus Paraves- 
pula) facultatively form polygynous, perennial colonies. This capac- 
ity demonstrates great plasticity in the behavioral ecology of 
Paravespula species, and is intriguing in light of its implications for 
theories concerning the evolution of eusociality in the Vespidae. 
We here report the discovery of a polygynous, perennial nest of 
Vespula maculifrons (Buysson) from the southeastern U.S. With 
this discovery, all non-parasitic Nearctic representatives of the sub- 
genus Paravespula have been shown to exhibit this atypical colony 
ontogeny. 
*Present address: Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, 
GA 30602. 
Manuscript received hy the editor February 25, 1983. 
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