The predatory behavior of the Neotropical social wasp Polybia rejecta

Abstract

We experimentally studied the predatory behavior of Polybia rejecta (Vespidae, Polistinae, Epiponini) towards 2-88 mm-long insects attracted to a UV light trap. Foragers, which began to hunt at 6:30, selected 4-14 mm-long prey insects. Prey detection by sight by hovering wasps was confirmed using decoys. After the wasps landed and walked along a sinuous path, prey were detected by contact or from a distance (1-3cm). This was followed by seizure, stinging (contrarily to most other known cases), prey manipulation and retrieval. Prey that flew off might be caught in flight. The prey load, representing 30.7% of a forager's weight, was optimized by capturing up to six small prey or two medium-sized prey successively (both of which might be consumed in situ). The foragers cut off the wings of larger prey or cut them into two pieces and returned to gather the second piece. The handling time increased exponentially with the weight of the prey. Partial loading (i.e., retrieving a load much inferior to the maximum possible) was likely related to social facilitation, a form of nest-based recruitment that was demonstrated through the experimental elimination of local enhancement by removing foragers (both mechanisms favor the exploitation of favorable patches).

Pest Control Potential of Social Wasps in Small Farms and Urban Gardens

“…Foragers locate their prey using chemical cues, especially through the detection of allelochemicals produced by plants during herbivory [20], and through visual orientation via prey movement [12]. Social wasp prey identification reveals that, although generalist, wasps tend to capture soft-bodied terrestrial arthropods [14,21] (Figure 1A). Leaf-eating caterpillars (Lepidoptera) are the most common choice, making up 90–95% of the captured prey [22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31].…”

Polybia Fasticiosuscula (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) Foraging Activity Patterns

“…The weight of the wasp and its prey was found to vary considerably for P. fastidiosuscula workers returning with a prey load. The prey weight was about 30% of their own body weight, which is lower than that of Polybia occidentalis (Olivier) (39%) (Hernández et al 2009), but similar to Polybia rejecta (F.) (30.7%) (Dejean et al 2017), and higher than that for Polybia platycephala Richards (all Hymenoptera: Eumenidae) (13.4%) (Prezoto et al 2005). This weight variation of the prey captured and transported by P. fastidiosuscula may be related to the opportunistic and generalist behavior of social wasps, which capture the first prey regardless of size (Raveret-Richter 2000).…”

“…The prey capture by social wasps consists of approaching the prey (generally by walking), antennation, attack, killing it by slicing pieces of flesh (Dejean et al 2017), and transport of prey pieces to the nest (Brown et al 2012).…”

An uneasy alliance: a nesting association between aggressive ants and equally fierce social wasps

“…The swarm-founding social wasp P. rejecta (F.) (Vespidae, Polistinae, Epiponini) (individuals 15 mm in length) is common in Amazonian rainforests. It has populous colonies of several hundred individuals living in nests protected by an envelope and reaching 2 m in height, although most of them measure less than 70 cm; they can form aggregates of up to 23 wasp nests (Jeanne, 1978(Jeanne, , 1991Corbara et al, 2009;Dejean et al, 2017b). Workers, which hunt soft-bodied arthropods, are very aggressive, and their sting is extremely painful for humans (Richards, 1978;Starr, 1985;Dejean et al, 2017b).…”