Flight behaviour during foraging of the social waspVespula vulgaris(Hymenoptera: Vespidae) and four mimetic hoverflies (Diptera:Syrphidae)Sericomyia silentis,Myathropa florea,Helophilussp. andSyrphussp.

Abstract

SUMMARY Many hoverfly species show specific or non specific morphological resemblance to wasps (Vespula sp.) and it has been suggested that they also show similar flight behaviour. In this study we therefore compared the flight behaviour of wasps with that of four mimetic hoverflies, Sericomyia silentis, Myathropa florea, Helophilus sp. and Syrphus sp., by filming insects while they were foraging on an artificial array of flowers. Films were analysed to determine the routes taken, time spent hovering and flight speed. Of the four flies, only the non specific mimic, Syrphus, showed similar flight behaviour to the wasps; it flew more slowly, and with more roundabout routes than the other flies, hesitating before landing. These results suggest that in hoverflies there is little reason to expect strict correlation between morphological and behavioural mimicry; insects may acquire the similarities to their model more-or-less independently.

The role of the anterior lateral eyes in the vision-based behaviour of jumping spiders

“…and X.J.N., unpublished observations). Orientation propensity dropped when faster speeds, characteristic of flying animals (David, 1979;Golding et al, 2005;Boeddeker et al, 2003), were reached. Stimuli at these speeds either were not detected or were of no interest to the spider, either because they are not reachable in the case of prey or because they spell danger in the case of wasps, birds, etc., where an orientation turn could draw unwanted attention.…”

Flight Distance and Return Capacity of Polistes lanio lanio (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) Workers

“…We also noted in our area that buildings and the Atlantic Forest may reduce return speed of P. lanio lanio, because the absence of these 2 obstacles increased the speed of return to its respective colony. Golding et al (2005) found that return speed of Vespula vulgaris (Linnaeus) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) was lower, because they move back and forth in front of flowers before landing for feeding. In our study, P. lanio lanio workers returning from the 2,050 m release point reinforced the notion that wasps use visual cues for reference points when returning to the colony.…”

Which traits do observers use to distinguish Batesian mimics from their models?

“…A major focus of recent studies on Batesian mimicry has been the somewhat puzzling inaccuracy of many mimics, when we expect natural selection to favor the most accurate ones (Penney et al 2012;Kikuchi and Pfennig 2013). The resemblance of a mimic to its model might encompass a wide range of traits, including shape (Jones et al 2013), color (Kraemer and Adams 2014), behavior (Golding et al 2005a), and sound (Barber and Conner 2007). However, these traits may not all hold the same relevance to mimicry, as some may be overlooked by the predator (Kikuchi and Pfennig 2010).…”