Morphological distance and inter‐nest distance account for intra‐specific prey overlap in digger wasps (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae)

Polidori, Carlo; Ballesteros, Yolanda; Santoro, Davide; Tormos, J.; Asís, Josep Daniel

doi:10.1007/s10144-012-0322-9

Cited by 4 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 48 publications

(69 reference statements)

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“…Individual specialization in solitary wasps is driven by many factors, including predator/ prey size relationships (Polidori et al 2010), prey mobility (Polidori et al 2013), abundance (Santoro et al 2011) and nest-nest distance (Polidori et al 2012). The ultimate availability of the resources and the inter-individual information flow, together with the underlying learning processes involved, can be key for explaining individual foraging patterns both in a solitary and a social context.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nest-based information transfer and foraging activation in the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris)

et al. 2015

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The apparent absence of intra-nest signals and communication about food resources (recruitment) among social wasps does not rule out the possibility of information transfer and coordinated foraging among nestmates. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) shows nest-based information transfer and foraging activation: an increase in the probability of an individual leaving the nest as a result of information about resources received from successful foragers. We controlled for the possibility of local enhancement, chemical trails at the food source and climatic variation. We found evidence that food choice and discovery of resources in the field by naïve foragers were assisted by information previously or simultaneously provided by experienced nestmates. This information was related to chemical cues associated with the food and possibly to its location. Our observations suggest piloting between common wasp foragers. At the trained nest, there was a change in foraging effort at the colony level when known resources were available. Reactivated, experienced foragers were the main group responsible for the increase in foraging traffic rate observed at the colony level. To our knowledge, this is the first study clearly demonstrating nest-based information transfer about food resources in V. vulgaris and one of the few providing evidence of foraging activation in social wasps. Our data are consistent with the possibility of recruitment in this group of social insects.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nest-based information transfer and foraging activation in the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris)

et al. 2015

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“…, ; Polidori et al. ). All species are in flight from late June until late August at the study site (Asís et al.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Approximately 15 nests of B. zonata were found at the end of August of 2009 in an area approximately 250 m apart from that of B. merceti (Polidori et al. ) and were not studied because of the lateness of the season. In 2010, all three species were studied in a second area approximately 100 m apart from the first one; there, all species nested together (Fig.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial Nest‐Settlement Decisions in Digger Wasps: Conspecifics Matter more than Heterospecifics and Previous Experience

et al. 2014

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Research into the driving forces behind spatial arrangement of wasp nests has considered abiotic environmental factors, but seldom investigated attraction or repulsion towards conspecifics or heterospecifics. Solitary female digger wasps (Hymenoptera) often nest in dense aggregations, making these insects good models to study this topic. Here, we analysed the nesting patterns in an area shared by three species of the genus Bembix, in a novel study to discover whether female wasps are attracted to or repulsed by conspecific nests, heterospecific nests or their own previously established nests when choosing nest‐digging locations. Early in the season, each species showed a clumping pattern of nests, but later in the season, a random distribution of nests was more common, suggesting an early conspecific attraction. Such behaviour was confirmed by the fact that females started building their nests more frequently where other females of their species were simultaneously digging. The distances between subsequent nests dug by individual females were shorter than those obtained by random simulations. However, this pattern seemed to depend on the tendency to dig close to conspecifics rather than remain in the vicinity of previous nests, suggesting that females' experience matters to future decisions only on a large scale. Nesting patches within nest aggregations largely overlapped between species, but the nests of each species were generally not closer to heterospecific nests than expected by chance, suggesting that females are neither repulsed by, nor attracted to, congenerics within nest aggregations. A role of the spatial distribution of natural enemies on the observed nesting patterns seemed unlikely. Bembix digger wasp nest aggregations seem thus to be primarily the result of female–female attraction during nest‐settlement decisions, in accordance with the ‘copying’ mechanisms suggested for nesting vertebrates.

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“…Secondly, four potential factors that could account for network topologies were considered: wasp body mass, nest spatial distribution, simultaneous nest-provisioning and prey availability (as a proxy for intra-specific competition). All these factors have been previously found to be associated with patterns of diet segregation in animals [16], [18], [22], [34], [40]–[43]. Previous studies on B. merceti at both population and individual level have also attempted to correlate prey use patterns with some of these factors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, it is still not clear how the partitioning of resources among the members of a population is accomplished [23] . A number of factors have been proposed as potential causes for inter-individual diet variation patterns, including forager's previous experience [24] , neurologic constraints [25] , [26] , body size variation [16] , [18] , patchiness of the environment or fidelity to a foraging area [20] , [27] , [28] , cultural transmission or social learning of foraging behaviours [29] – [33] , frequency-dependent selection [9] , or intra-specific competition [22] , [34] . Nevertheless, much less is known about how these, or other, potential factors shape the topology of the diet-based interactions among individuals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complex-to-Predict Generational Shift between Nested and Clustered Organization of Individual Prey Networks in Digger Wasps

et al. 2014

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Although diet has traditionally been considered to be a property of the species or populations as a whole, there is nowadays extensive knowledge that individual specialization is widespread among animal populations. Nevertheless, the factors determining the shape of interactions within food webs remain largely undiscovered, especially in predatory insects. We used an aggregation of the digger wasp Bembix merceti to 1) analyse patterns of individual prey use across three flying seasons in a network–based context; and 2) test the effect of four potential factors that might explain network topologies (wasp mass, nest spatial distribution, simultaneous nest-provisioning, prey availability). Inter-individual diet variation was found in all three years, under different predator-prey network topologies: Individuals arranged in dietary clusters and displayed a checkerboard pattern in 2009, but showed nestedness in 2008 and 2010. Network topologies were not fully explained by the tested factors. Larger females consumed a higher proportion of the total number of prey species captured by the population as a whole, in such a way that nested patterns may arise from mass-dependent prey spectrum width. Conversely, individuals with similar body mass didn’t form clusters. Nested patterns seemed to be associated with a greater availability of the main prey species (a proxy for reduced intra-specific competition). Thus, according with theory, clusters seemed to appear when competition increased. On the other hand, the nests of the individuals belonging to a given cluster were not more closely located, and neither did individuals within a cluster provision their nests simultaneously. Thus, a female-female copying behaviour during foraging was unlikely. In conclusion, wasp populations can maintain a considerable individual variation across years under different food web organizations. The tested factors only partially accounted for the shift in network properties, and new analyses should be carried out to elucidate how diet network topologies arise in wasp populations.

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Morphological distance and inter‐nest distance account for intra‐specific prey overlap in digger wasps (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae)

Cited by 4 publications

References 48 publications

Nest-based information transfer and foraging activation in the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris)

Nest-based information transfer and foraging activation in the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris)

Spatial Nest‐Settlement Decisions in Digger Wasps: Conspecifics Matter more than Heterospecifics and Previous Experience

Complex-to-Predict Generational Shift between Nested and Clustered Organization of Individual Prey Networks in Digger Wasps

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