Vespidae
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| - | '''Sociality''' is the degree to which individuals in an [[animal]] [[population]] tend to associate in [[social group]]s ('''gregariousness''') and form cooperative [[societies]]. | ||
| - | Sociality is a survival response to [[evolutionary pressure]]s. For example, when a mother [[wasp]] stays near her [[larva]]e in the nest, [[parasite]]s are less likely to eat the larvae. Biologists suspect that pressures from parasites and other [[predator]]s [[Natural selection|selected]] this behavior in wasps of the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Vespidae]]. | + | [[File:Palaeovespa florissantia.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Palaeovespa]] florissantia'', late [[Eocene]]]] |
| - | + | The '''Vespidae''' are a large (nearly 5000 species), diverse, [[cosmopolitan distribution|cosmopolitan]] family of [[wasp]]s, including nearly all the known [[eusocial]] wasps (such as ''[[Polistes fuscatus]]'', ''[[Vespa orientalis]]'', and ''[[Vespula germanica]]'') and many [[wikt:solitary|solitary]] wasps. | |
| - | This wasp behaviour evidences the most fundamental characteristic of animal sociality: [[parental investment]]. Parental investment is any expenditure of [[resource]]s (time, energy, [[social capital]]) to benefit one's [[offspring]]. Parental investment detracts from a parent's capacity to invest in future reproduction and aid to [[Family|kin]] (including other offspring). An animal that cares for its young but shows no other sociality traits is said to be ''subsocial''. | + | |
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| - | An animal that exhibits a high degree of sociality is called a ''social animal''. The highest degree of sociality recognized by sociobiologists is ''[[eusociality]]''. A eusocial [[taxon]] is one that exhibits [[Overlapping generations|overlapping adult generations]], [[Reproduction|reproductive]] [[division of labor]], cooperative care of young, and—in the most refined cases—a biological [[caste system]]. | + | |
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| - | == See also == | + | |
| - | :''[[termite]], [[human]], [[ape]]'' | + | |
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| - | * [[Altruism in animals]] | + | |
| - | * [[Animal culture]] | + | |
| - | * [[Collectivism]] | + | |
| - | * [[Group cohesiveness]] | + | |
| - | * [[Group selection]] | + | |
| - | * [[Individualism]] | + | |
| - | * [[Interdependence]] | + | |
| - | * [[Nesting instinct]] | + | |
| - | * [[Prosocial behavior]] | + | |
| - | * [[Reciprocal altruism]] | + | |
| - | * [[Social behavior]] | + | |
| - | *[[Sociobiology]] | + | |
| - | * [[Stigmergy]] | + | |
| - | *[[Tool use by animals]] | + | |
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[[File:Palaeovespa florissantia.jpg|thumb|right|Palaeovespa florissantia, late Eocene]]
The Vespidae are a large (nearly 5000 species), diverse, cosmopolitan family of wasps, including nearly all the known eusocial wasps (such as Polistes fuscatus, Vespa orientalis, and Vespula germanica) and many solitary wasps.
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Vespidae" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
