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Creators/Authors contains: "Ray, Charles"

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  1. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; et al (, IEEE)
    Free, publicly-accessible full text available March 22, 2026
  2. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, IEEE)
    Full Text Available 
  3. ; ; ; (, Ecology and Evolution)
    Abstract Many social species show variation in their social structure in response to different environmental conditions. For example, colonies of the yellowjacket waspVespula squamosaare typically headed by a single reproductive queen and survive for only a single season. However, in warmer climates,V. squamosacolonies sometimes persist for multiple years and can grow to extremely large size. We used genetic markers to understand patterns of reproduction and recruitment within these perennial colonies. We genotypedV. squamosaworkers, pre‐reproductive queens, and males from perennial colonies in the southeastern United States at 10 polymorphic microsatellite loci and one mitochondrial DNA locus. We found thatV. squamosafrom perennial nests were produced by multiple reproductives, in contrast to typical annual colonies. Relatedness of nestmates from perennial colonies was significantly lower than relatedness of nestmates from annual colonies. Our analyses of mitochondrial DNA indicated that mostV. squamosaperennial colonies represented semiclosed systems whereby all individuals belonged to a single matriline despite the presence of multiple reproductive females. However, new queens recruited into perennial colonies apparently mated with non‐nestmate males. Notably, perennial and annual colonies did not show significant genetic differences, supporting the hypothesis that perennial colony formation represents an instance of social plasticity. Overall, our results indicate that perennialV. squamosacolonies show substantial changes to their social biology compared to typical annual colonies and demonstrate variation in social behaviors in highly social species. 
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