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

Abstract

The nesting behaviour of the cockroach-hunting solitary wasp Penepodium luteipenne (Fabricius, 1804) is described, including five different nesting tactics: digging of new nests, use of pre-existing burrows in the soil, brood parasitism of open nests, brood parasitism of closed nests, and nest usurpation. Observations of a peculiar female territorial behaviour are also provided. Knowledge of the behaviour of other species of the tribe Podiini is summarized and compared with the behaviour of P. luteipenne. This study is based on nesting females observed in the Biological Reserve of Poço das Antas, an area in southeastern Brazil covered by Atlantic Forest.

Further observations on the nesting behavior of Penepodium luteipenne (Hymenoptera, Sphecidae)

“…The nests were unicellular and consisted of not branched vertical tunnels, with a narrower canal that leads the opening to the cell (Fig. 1), similar to those described by Buys (2012). The nests were found in compacted clay soil, in open sites, exposed to the sun.…”

“…Because the biology of this genus is poorly known, we have studied Penepodium luteipenne (Fabricius, 1904) in forested areas of Rio de Janeiro State, southeastern Brazil (Buys 2001(Buys , 2009(Buys , 2011(Buys , 2012. Here, we present further observations on the reproductive behavior of this species.…”

“…The carrying prey mechanism of P. luteipenne was previously described (Buys 2012), but herein a new noteworthy observation is added: females carry small prey by holding the bodies of the prey with one midleg and one foreleg (Figs 2-3), besides grasping the prey antennae with the mandibles. This represents a relatively unusual form of transport.…”

“…Since females P. luteipenne dig several nests gregariously and defend the nesting site against conspecific females and other walking insects (Buys 2012), it is possible that all of these nests, or at least part of them, has been dug by the same female. Measurements of some of these nests are showed in Table 1.…”

The move to open access and growth: experience from Journal of Hymenoptera Research

“…The majority of the most accessed articles comprise revisionary studies, including the large-scale revision of the genus Quartinia in Southern Africa (Gess 2011a, b;2012a, b), with part IV being the most viewed article (Table 1). Eleven, or 19%, of all published articles in 2011/2012 had behavioural ecology as their main subject, with a prevalence of articles concerning aculeate wasps (Alcock 2011, Buys 2012, Nalepa 2012, Dalmazzo and Roig Alsina 2012, Barthelemy and Pitts 2012, Sarzetti et al 2012, Wcislo et al 2012. Although there is a predominance of articles that have systematics, phylogeny, and ecology as their prime subjects, there have been several articles dealing with important, more general subjects.…”