Nest usurpation is when the queen of one species of

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

insects takes over the colony of another species. Cuckoo bumblebees (''

Psithyrus Cuckoo bumblebees are members of the subgenus ''Psithyrus'' in the bumblebee genus ''Bombus''. Until recently, the 28 species of ''Psithyrus'' were considered to constitute a separate genus. They are a specialized socially parasitic lineage whi ...

'') and brood-parasitic paper wasps (e.g., ''

Polistes sulcifer ''Polistes semenowi'' is a species of paper wasp in the genus ''Polistes ''that is found in southeastern and southern central Europe, as well as central Asia, and was until 2017 erroneously known by the name ''Polistes sulcifer'', while a differe ...

'') are known for usurpation.Cervo R, Macinai V, Dechigi F, Turillazzi S. (2004). “Fast growth of immature brood in a social parasite wasp: a convergent evolution between avian and insect cuckoos”. ''American Naturalist'' 164 (6): 814–820. doi: 10.1086/425987. Nest usurpation most frequently occurs during the late pre-emergence stage of a nest. A foundress is a member of one species, usually female that finds a nest in the late pre-emergence stage and takes control of the colony of that nest. A usurper or queen is a member of one species, usually female that gives raise to and controls the colony of a particular nest. Among '' Metapolybia cingulata'', it is very common to observe queens taking over other ''M. cingulata'' colonies, however it has also been noted that if the two colonies are similar enough, the exchange of workers or queens can be relatively smooth.

References

{{Hymenoptera-stub Insect behavior Hymenoptera ecology