[3] Metapolybia cingulata is a member of the family Vespidae of eusocial wasps within the order Hymenoptera.
[4] M. cingulata presents a mostly dark or black coloration coupled with translucent wings attached to its back.
[2] M. cingulata can be definitively found in South America, and in countries like Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador.
[3] Nests of Metapolybia cingulata tend to be found on or anchored to strong structures such as buildings.
[3] Upon close observation of Metapolybia wasps, five different behaviors associated with constructing a nest have been identified: specialized water foragers, specialized pulp foragers, active builders, active generalists, and idle workers.
They typically share or exchange their water load with flexible pulp foragers so that the cellulose paste can be created to build the nest with.
With a decrease in builders, the pulp foragers have to spend more time finding someone to distribute their load to, which usually just ends with them assisting in the building process instead to speed along the exchange.
[3] The job of active builders is to physically construct the nest, including the envelope, comb, and the external support.
The flexible pulp foragers transport their materials to the active builders who then further distribute the load.
Pulp foragers can carry a cellulose load that is much larger than a single builder can work with.
Thus, the large load of paste that the pulp forager brings in has to be cut down and redistributed to other builders, who are spread out within the colony, so that each wasp ends up with a portion that can actually be handled and used effectively.
Due to their lack of productivity, typical idle workers are the source of problems not only within the colony but for other groups of construction behavior as well.
Now a new colony has formed because all the offspring produced from that point on will be more closely related to her than any of the workers until they have all been replaced.
[2] Metapolybia cingulata are unique in that they lack distinct morphological castes, which is a common trait of polybiines.
[6] A proposition has been made to say that this behavior is the first step of many taken by species who are becoming a more advanced class of social parasitic wasps.
The two major gains for the usurping queen is a new work force and a new nest, which both cost her less than if she would've tried to raise her offspring by herself.
The colony being usurped resists this extremely foreign invader because they want to keep their offspring as related to the rest of them as possible.
[2] Aggressive behavior in Metapolybia cingulata is usually noticed due to a relatively common way of presenting.
This competition is especially evident in smaller colonies because their presence greatly alters the social structure.
[2] Just as in many wasp species, Metapolybia cingulata has one sole reproductive female for the entire colony.