''Synoeca'' is a genus of

eusocial Eusociality ( Greek 'good' and social) is the highest level of organization of sociality. It is defined by the following characteristics: cooperative brood care (including care of offspring from other individuals), overlapping generations wit ...

paper wasp Paper wasps are a type of Eusociality, social vespid wasps. The term is typically used to refer to members of the Vespidae, vespid subfamily Polistinae, though it often colloquially includes members of the subfamilies Vespinae (hornets and yel ...

s found in the tropical forests of the Americas. Commonly known as warrior wasps or drumming wasps, they are known for their aggressive behavior, a threat display consisting of multiple insects guarding a nest beating their wings in a synchronized fashion, and an extremely painful

sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

(rating at the highest level of 4 in the

Schmidt sting pain index The Schmidt sting pain index is a pain scale rating the relative pain caused by different hymenopteran stings. It is mainly the work of Justin O. Schmidt, who was an entomologist at the Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Arizona. Schmidt's or ...

). The sting is barbed and if used often kills the wasp, which may be the reason why such a striking defensive display is used. This display escalates from drumming inside the nest to hundreds of wasps moving on to the envelope of the nest and continuing to drum. If this does not deter the threat only then do the wasps begin to sting.

Distribution and habitat

The genus has a wide range within the Americas, with specimens being found in the tropical and subtropical portions thereof. ''S. septentrionalis'' is generally found in the northern part of the range, having been observed as far north as

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, throughout

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

and northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. A very similar species, ''S. ilheensis'', extends into

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and, until 2017, was reported as a southern population of ''S. septentrionalis''. The other species in the genus are predominantly found in South America, as far south as

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. ''Synoeca'' thrives in tropical rainforests, building arboreal nests in trees, typically on the underside of major branches. A single comb is built directly on the tree trunk; and the nests have a characteristic shape which resembles an

armadillo Armadillos () are New World placental mammals in the order (biology), order Cingulata. They form part of the superorder Xenarthra, along with the anteaters and sloths. 21 extant species of armadillo have been described, some of which are dis ...

, leading to common vernacular names such as marimbondo-tatu or armadillo wasp. These wasps swarm to form new colonies, a single

queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

leaves the nest accompanied by some workers to a new nest site. The queen uses

pheromones A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavi ...

to suppress the reproductive behaviour of the workers. When one queen dies she is replaced by another; colonies may last up to 16 years.

Species

* ''

Synoeca cyanea ''Synoeca cyanea'', commonly known as the marimbondo-tatu in Brazil, is a swarm-founding eusocial wasp. Native to Brazil and Argentina, ''S. cyanea'' is one of the largest and most aggressive species of social wasps and is feared in many rural ar ...

Fabricius Fabricius (, ) is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *people from the Ancient Roman Fabricia gens, gens Fabricia: **Gaius Fabricius Luscinus, the first of the Fabricii to move to Rome * Johann Goldsmid (1587–1616), known by his ...

, 1775 * '' Synoeca chalibea'' de Saussure, 1852 (often misspelled as ''chalybea'') * '' Synoeca ilheensis'' Lopes & Menezes, 2017 * ''

Synoeca septentrionalis ''Synoeca septentrionalis'' is one of five species of wasps in the genus '' Synoeca''. It is a swarm-founding wasp that is also eusocial, exhibiting complicated nest structure and defense mechanisms and a colony cycle including a pre-emergence ph ...

'' Richards 1978 * ''

Synoeca surinama ''Synoeca surinama'' is a Neotropical swarm-founding wasp of the tribe Epiponini. It is known for its metallic blue and black appearance and painful sting. ''S. surinama'' builds nests on tree trunks and can be found in tropical climates of Sout ...

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

1767 * ''

Synoeca virginea ''Synoeca'' is a genus of eusocial paper wasps found in the tropical forests of the Americas. Commonly known as warrior wasps or drumming wasps, they are known for their aggressive behavior, a threat display consisting of multiple insects guardin ...

'' Fabricius, 1804

Venom and potential utilisation

Entomologist Justin Schmidt has ranked the sting of the species ''S. septentrionalis'' as a 4 on his

and has described it as "torture." You are chained in the flow of an active volcano." This is the highest ranking in his index and also includes the

bullet ant A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. They are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax; and are made in various shapes and constru ...

and a species of

tarantula hawk A tarantula hawk is a spider wasp (Pompilidae) that preys on tarantulas. Tarantula hawks belong to any of the many species in the genera '' Pepsis'' and '' Hemipepsis.'' They are some of the largest parasitoid wasps, using their sting to paralyze ...

in the genus ''

Pepsis ''Pepsis'' (from Ancient Greek πέψι lit. ''pepsis'' meaning 'digestion, cooking') is a genus of spider wasps belonging to the family Spider wasp, Pompilidae. Species within this genus are also called tarantula hawks, as they usually hunt t ...

''. A research team in Brazil has discovered that ''Synoeca'' stings contain a newly discovered compound that could be used to treat anxiety, apparently working as effectively as

diazepam Diazepam, sold under the brand name Valium among others, is a medicine of the benzodiazepine family that acts as an anxiolytic. It is used to treat a range of conditions, including anxiety disorder, anxiety, seizures, alcohol withdrawal syndr ...

when tested on rats.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q4050508 Vespidae Hymenoptera of South America