By Matt Hudson
The European paper wasp, Polistes dominulus Christ, is an abundant wasp species in South and Central Europe which dispersed to the north in recent times. revealed that Polistes dominulus not only optimises behaviour but also reduces metabolism to save energy. Polistes dominulus is considered primitive eusocial due to the low caste dimorphism (Wilson 1971). One could assume that Polistes dominulus has similar thermoregulatory capabilities as other wasps of similar size and body mass, e.g. In P. dominulus, however, resting metabolism is known at only one ambient temperature (25 °C; Weiner et al.
