Comparative study of the nesting behaviour of Tachysphex inconspicuus (Kirby) (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) in two locations in southeast Brazil

Abstract

PALAVRAS-CHAVE:Amobia, biologia, etologia, parasitóide ABSTRACT -The nesting behaviour of the solitary wasp Tachysphex inconspicuus (Kirby) was comparatively studied based on observations made in two environmentally distinct locations in southeast Brazil: upper portions of two sandy beaches and a dirt road in a forested area. Motor patterns related to nest construction were similar in all observed wasps, but some behavioural features, which were different among the observed wasps in the two environments, seem to be constrained by ecological factors. T. inconspicuus can be behaviourally differentiated from several other species of the genus by the following combination of features: they close the nest temporarily during its provision, do not let the excavated sand to form into a mound in front of the nest entrance, construct unicellular nests, and provision the nest with cockroaches. Moreover, females T. inscospicuus use their hind legs in a peculiar way to manipulate the prey, which allows them to associate the use of the mandibles in prey transport with the possibility of excavating the temporary plug and entering the nest without releasing the prey. Chorisoneura lopesi Albuquerque, C. excelsa Albuquerque & Silva, and unidentified species of Riatia (Blattodea: Blatellidae) were found as prey and Amobia floridensis (Towsend) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) as parasitoid of T. insconspicuus.

Nesting habits, alternative nesting strategies and female territoriality of the cockroach-hunting solitary wasp Penepodium luteipenne (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae)

“…Interestingly, the cockroach-hunting crabronid wasps (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) Tachysphex fanuiensis Cheesman, 1928 (Williams 1945) and Tachysphex inconspicuus (W.F. Kirby, 1890) (Buys 2007) also lay their eggs under one prey forecoxa just as do the Podiini. This can be interpreted as an adaptive convergence.…”

Observations on the Nesting and Prey of the Solitary Wasp,Tachysphex inconspicuus, with a Review of Nesting Behavior in theT. obscuripennisspecies group

“…Tachysphex alayoi is found mainly in the West Indies (Pulawski 1988). All species hunt and stock their cells with small adult and nymphal cockroaches belonging to the family Blattellidae (Pulawski 1974, 1988), although there is one record of a nymphal cricket as prey (Buys 2007). …”

“…Buys (2007) provided the most complete observations to date on the nesting behavior of an American cockroach-hunting Tachysphex. He observed the nesting behavior of T. inconspicuus at two locations in southeast Brazil, a sand beach and a sand-patched dirt road.…”

“…He observed the nesting behavior of T. inconspicuus at two locations in southeast Brazil, a sand beach and a sand-patched dirt road. Buys (2007) reported that females leveled the sand removed from their excavations, temporarily closed their nest entrances with soil, and then made orientation flights above the nesting area. Lightly paralyzed cockroaches were consecutively brought to the nest predominantly in flight.…”

“…Nests of T. inconspicuus excavated by Buys (2007) were single-celled. They had an oblique burrow that terminated in a cell 6–7 cm deep in the sand beach, but only 1–2.5 cm deep in the sand-patched dirt road.…”