The tracheal system of the Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris) - A micro-CT study

G D Bell; N Corps; D Mortimer; S Gretton; N Bury; G J Connett

doi:10.1016/j.jinsphys.2023.104547

The tracheal system of the Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris) - A micro-CT study

J Insect Physiol. 2023 Sep:149:104547. doi: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2023.104547. Epub 2023 Jul 13.

Authors

G D Bell¹, N Corps¹, D Mortimer², S Gretton¹, N Bury¹, G J Connett³

Affiliations

¹ School of (EAST) Engineering, Arts, Science and Technology, University of Suffolk, James Hehir Building, University Avenue, Ipswich, Suffolk IP3 0FS, UK.
² Newbourne, Woodbridge IP12 4NR, UK.
³ National Institute for Health Research, Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, Southampton Children's Hospital, UK. Electronic address: Gary.connett@uhs.nhs.uk.

PMID: 37451536
DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2023.104547

Abstract

X-ray micro-CT has been used to study the tracheal system of Pre and Post hibernation Queen wasps (Vespula vulgaris) and their workers. We have compared our findings in wasps with Snodgrass's description of the tracheal system of the honeybee as characterised by anatomical dissection. Our images, whilst broadly similar, identify the tracheal system as being considerably more complex than previously suggested. One of the 30 wasps imaged had a markedly different, previously undescribed tracheal system. Since completing this study, a large micro-CT study from the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) has been published. This used different software (Slicer) and analysed 16bit digital data. We have compared our methods with that described in the AMNH publication, adopted their suggested nomenclature and have made recommendations for future studies.

Keywords: Diagnostic radioentomology; Micro CT; Micro-computer tomography; Queen and worker wasps; Tracheal system; Vespula vulgaris; X-ray.