Nest Ecology and Prey Preference of the Mud Dauber Wasp Sceliphron formosum (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae)
Abstract
:Simple Summary
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Mud Nest Collecting
2.2. Examination of Nest Contents
2.3. Statistical Analyses of Tenant Communities
3. Results
3.1. Survey and Observation of the Nests of Sceliphron formosum in ACT
3.2. Spider Prey Composition
3.3. Body Length to Leg Span Ratio (BLR)
3.4. Nest Composition
3.4.1. Group 1: Original Nest Builder
Sceliphron formosum (Smith, 1856) (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae)
3.4.2. Group 2: Secondary Tenants That Exploit Abandoned Nests
Pison spp. (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae)
- (1)
- Pison simillimum was the dominant tenant found in S. formosum nests. Females occupy the nest by building their own cells, which can make up one or two cells in a single nest (Figure 8a,c). The larvae are grub-like, the head capsule is clear, and the body light is yellow with protrusions on the side of segments (Figure 9a). The cocoon is oval, light-brown coloured, with a paper-like texture and a darkened cap that serves as a moulting exit (Figure 8b). The adults are entirely black, but have ferruginous tibia, tarsus and distinctive brown pubescence on the lower rim of each tergite (Figure 10a).
- (2)
- (3)
- (4)
- Pison priscum is a small-sized Pison. Adults make their own cells inside the nests of S. formosum. They usually build two to three cells in one nest, compartmentalized by mud walls (Figure 8f). Cocoon and larvae are similar to P. simillimum but smaller in size. Adult is entirely black in colour (Figure 9d).
- (5)
- Pison peletieri is another small-sized Pison. Adults were found building small ball-like mud nests inside empty mud nests (Figure 8g). The cocoon and larvae are similar to P. simillimum but smaller in size. The head, thorax and part of the femur of the adult are black, while the rest of the legs are ferruginous (Figure 9e).
- (6)
- Pison prostratum also build small ball-like nests inside empty nests and have a cocoon similar to that of P. simillimum. The main difference between Pison peletieri and Pison prostratum is body colouration. The adult is entirely black, except for the legs and ventral segments of the antennae (Figure 9f).
Eumeninae wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)
Hylaeus nubilosus (Smith, 1853) (Hymenoptera: Colletidae)
Megachile aurifrons Smith, 1853 (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae)
3.4.3. Group 3: Parasitoids of S. formosum
Melittobia australica Girault, 1912 (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae)
Amobia burnsi (Malloch, 1930) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae)
3.4.4. Group 4: Parasitoids of Secondary Tenants
Brachymeria sp. (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae)
Toryminae sp. (Hymenoptera: Torymidae)
Phrudus sp. (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae)
Gasteruption cinerescens Pasteels, 1957 (Hymenoptera: Gasteruptiidae)
Primeuchroeus reversus (Smith, 1874) (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae)
Primeuchroeus faustus (Smith, 1874) (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae)
Thraxan sp. (Diptera: Bombyliidae)
3.4.5. Group 5: Share Space with S. formosum
Epipompilus mirabundus Yuan & Rodriguez, 2020 (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae)
3.4.6. Group 6: The by-Catch Tenant
Ogcodes pygmaeus White, 1914 (Diptera: Acroceridae)
3.4.7. Group 7: Scavenger
Anthrenus sp. (Coleoptera: Dermestidae)
4. Discussion
4.1. Prey Preference
4.2. Nest Ecology
4.3. Host Associations
4.4. Notes on New Species
4.5. Australian Beneficial Pollinators
4.6. Australian Native Species
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Spider Family | Numbers of Individuals in Nests |
---|---|
Salticidae | 514 (82.5%) |
Araneidae | 42 (6.7%) |
Hersiliidae | 29 (4.7%) |
Sparassidae | 23 (3.7%) |
Thomisidae | 8 (1.3%) |
Amaurobiidae | 1 (0.2%) |
unknown | 5 (0.8%) |
Spider Prey | Number of Spiders |
---|---|
Opisthoncus parcidentatus | 94 (35.5%) |
Opisthuncus sp. | 21 (7.9%) |
Servaea narraweena | 59 (22.3%) |
Servaea villosa | 16 (6%) |
Servaea incana | 5 (1.9%) |
Servaea sp. | 1 (0.4%) |
Cytaea sp. | 38 (14.3%) |
Helpis sp. | 8 (3%) |
Simaethula sp. | 7 (2.6%) |
Holoplatys sp. | 4 (1.5%) |
Simaetha sp. | 3 (1.1%) |
Zenodorus sp. | 1 (0.4%) |
Bianor maculatus | 1 (0.4%) |
Sandalodes sp. | 1 (0.4%) |
Clynotis sp. | 1 (0.4%) |
Other | 5 (1.9%) |
Total | 265 |
Type of Tenant | Family or Species | Number of Nests Occupied |
---|---|---|
1. Nest builder | Sceliphron formosum (Sphecidae) | 162 |
2. Secondary tenants | Pison spp. (Crabronidae) | 266 |
Eumeninae (Vespidae) | 101 | |
Hylaeus nubilosus (Colletidae) | 15 | |
Megachile aurifrons (Megachilidae) | 2 | |
3. Parasitoids of S. formosum | Amobia burnsi (Sarcophagidae) | 12 |
Melittobia australica (Eulophidae) | 20 (type 3 + 4) | |
4. Parasitoids of secondary tenants | Melittobia australica (Eulophidae) | 20 (type 3 + 4) |
Toryminae (Torymidae) | 1 | |
Brachymeria sp. (Chalcididae) | 1 | |
Phrudus sp. (Ichneumonidae) | 1 | |
Gasteruption cinerescens (Gasteruptidae) | 7 | |
Primeuchroeus faustus (Chrysididae) | 5 | |
Primeuchroeus reversus (Chrysididae) | 2 | |
Thraxan sp. (Bombyliidae) | 5 | |
5. Share space with S. formosum | Epipompilus sp. (Pompilidae) | 1 |
6. By-catch | Ogcodes pygmaeus (Acroceridae) | 14 |
7. Scavenger | Anthrenus sp. (Dermestidae) | 33 |
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Yuan, D.; Beckman, J.; Florez Fernandez, J.; Rodriguez, J. Nest Ecology and Prey Preference of the Mud Dauber Wasp Sceliphron formosum (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae). Insects 2022, 13, 1136. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13121136
Yuan D, Beckman J, Florez Fernandez J, Rodriguez J. Nest Ecology and Prey Preference of the Mud Dauber Wasp Sceliphron formosum (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae). Insects. 2022; 13(12):1136. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13121136
Chicago/Turabian StyleYuan, David, Juliey Beckman, Jaime Florez Fernandez, and Juanita Rodriguez. 2022. "Nest Ecology and Prey Preference of the Mud Dauber Wasp Sceliphron formosum (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae)" Insects 13, no. 12: 1136. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13121136