Polistes dominula BIO 203
Classification
Animalia
Polistes dominula
is considered to be a part of kingdom Animalia for a large variety of
reasons.
First and foremost, it is a multicellular organism that is eukaryotic.
P. dominula is also a heterotrophic
organism (To learn more about the diet, please view the
form and function page). This means that
it has to rely on eating other organisms to sustain its dietary needs.
Its body takes care of obtaining
these nutrients by taking care of digestion internally, which is another
characteristic of Animalia. P.
dominula’s digestion system also works in coordination with
multiple other organ systems to assist in
regulating homeostasis (Pearson 2013, Campbell and Reece 2008). Beyond
that, P. dominula is within
kingdom Animalia because it reproduces through sexual reproduction and
during development there is
an embryonic stage that takes place (Campbell et al. 2008).
Arthropoda
The phylum of Arthropoda
has many defining characteristics that P. dominula fits into.
The
largest requirement of Arthropoda is that all organisms included must
have an exoskeleton made of
Chitin. This skeleton is split up into three main sections which are the
head, thorax, and abdomen. As P.
dominula grows, it must shed that exoskeleton through a process
called Ecdysis. When it does this, a
new skeleton must be grown to accommodate the new size of the organism
(Ramel 2013, Campbell et al. 2008). Another important
characteristic of Arthropoda that P. dominula has bilateral
symmetry. By having this symmetry, there are paired appendages, which
include legs, antennae, wings, and eyes. P. dominula has an
advanced nervous system is also well developed and like other members of
Arthropoda allows them to see through compound eyes. Additionally,
phylum members of Arthropoda
have an open circulatory system (Ramel 2013, Campbell et al. 2008).
Hexapoda
The sub-phylum of
hexapoda is very similar to that of the main phylum of Arthropoda.
P.
dominula meets the requirements of being in the sub-phylum Hexapoda
by having a body that is divided into a head, thorax, and abdomen
(Campbell et al. 2008, Maddison 2002). Additionally P.
dominula has a single pair of antennae, three pairs of legs, and
one pair of wings. Having a mostly
terrestrial life is also a very important aspect of Hexapoda that P.
dominula meets (Campbell et al. 2008).
Insecta
P. dominula
falls under the class of Insecta for a large variety of reasons. First,
it has a body that
is split into three sections, which are the head, thorax, and abdomen.
Reproduction for P. dominula
occurs sexual between dominant females and many different males of the
hive. Fertilization takes place
internally (For more information see the
reproductive page)(Encylopedia of Life 2013, Campbell et al. 2008). Members of Insecta undergo metamorphosis at some point in
their lifetime. For P.
dominula this happens during the pupal stage. When in the pupal
stage, members of class Insecta look
entirely different from their final form as an adult. Once offspring are
matured enough in their larval
stage they emerge as adults ready to serve the colony. P. dominula
also falls into Insecta because it has
wings that are not true appendages of the body that allow them to take
part in flight (Encyclopedia of
Life 2013, Campbell et al. 2008).
Hymenoptera
Hymenoptera is an order
that encompasses ants, bees, and wasps that display a high level of
eusociality (Learn more about Eusociality on the
interactions page). Since
P. dominula is a Polistine wasp, it certainly fits into this
order. Individuals within Hymenoptera have a posterior stinger that is
used for defending themselves and paralyzing prey. The prey that it
kills are digested through the use of a mandible capable of chewing
(Campbell et al. 2008, Johnson et al. 2004). P. dominula is also
highly mobile with two pairs of membranous wings. Members of Hymenoptera
also have antennae longer than the head and are segmented between 10 and
13 times. P. dominula has thirteen segments on its antennae
(Campbell et al. 2008, Buck et al. 2008).
Vespidae
P. dominula
fits into the family of Vespidae for a few very
specific reasons. It has
legs that are
normal length, which means that the rear legs extend to a little after
the abdomen. Members of the
family Vespidae also keep their wings folded at their sides
longitudinally when at rest (Sharkey et al. 2012,
Grosse 2002). P. dominula also has a notch on its eye on the
inner margin. The pronotum, the first
segment of the thorax just behind the head, goes all the way to the
tequalae, which is the segment of
the thorax the wings are attached to. When it comes to feeding, members
of Vespidae feed on
caterpillars from the order of Lepidoptera. P. dominula builds
its nests out of paper, and other members
of Vespidae may also build their nests out of mud (Arnett 2000).
Figure 1. P. dominula is part of phylum Arthropoda. In this phylogenetic tree, arthropoda is broken into only three parts: Hexapoda, Crustacea, and Myriapoda. Of these, P. dominula is part of Hexapoda, which is further broken into order Insecta and many other orders that are not shown on this tree (Campbell et al. 2008).
Polistes
P. dominula is
part of the genus Polistes because of its eusociality for structure of
hierarchies
within the nest. Females, known as foundresses, overwinter and then
emerge in the spring to build a
nest (See the interactions page for more information)(Digital Field Guides
2010). All species that are a
part of this genus are predatory and feed on caterpillars from the order
Leponoptera. In addition to that
feeding, they also eat various plants including but not limited to
soapberry, sumacs, and Apache plume
for their nectar. When flying, P. dominula also dangles its
rear legs, which is a huge identifying
characteristic of the genus Polistes (Digital Field Guides
2010).
Polistes dominula
When P. dominula was originally found by Johann Ludwig Christ, he named it Vespida dominula. It was later moved to the genus of Polistes, which then made this species Polistes dominula. Dominula itself means: "little mistress' in latin. However, due to proper masculine and feminine agreement in genitive nouns, P. dominula is often miscalled Polistes dominulus (Encyclopedia of Life 2013).
Figure 2. This phylogenetic tree shows the relationship of P. dominula to other bees and wasps. The tree started at order Hymenoptera. This is broken into superfamilies, and P. dominula is a part of Vespoidea. From superfamily Vespoidea, this tree moves to family Vespidae. From here, the tree lists specific species of organisms that are a part of family Vespidae.