Ecology and animal behavior Research Papers (original) (raw)

2025, Revista Brasileira de …

There are a few studies about the behavior of males of paper wasps in the colonies; however, some activities performed by males , such as nest maintenance and brood care, have been described in the literature. Between February and June 2001, behavioral observations were carried out on three colonies of Polistes ferreri Saussure, 1853, from postemergence to decline phases. Productivity, emergence time, permanence on the combs and behavioral repertory were verified during the observations. The emergence of males took place between February and June, and the productivity was 17,66±12,05 males per colony. Such values were smaller than those found for other species of Polistes. Seventeen behavioral acts were registered for males of P. ferreri. Males remained in the colony for a short period (average of 8,06 days). Some performed acts by males seem to be related to the tasks in the nests and to the mating behavior.

2024, Journal of Economic Entomology

The asparagus miner is an obligatory feeder on asparagus and a putative vector for pathogenic fungi implicated in the early decline of asparagus Þelds. To date, the distribution of the asparagus miner over space and time is poorly understood. Our study evaluated the spatial and temporal pattern of adult asparagus miners in commercial asparagus Þelds in Michigan in 2011 and 2012. We sampled adults and damage weekly during the growing season using yellow sticky traps outside, at the edge, and inside commercial Þelds. Yellow sticky traps at each trapping location were placed at the canopy and ground level to determine vertical distribution of adults. During the Þrst generation, adults were more evenly distributed throughout the Þeld. In the second generation, adults were more commonly found on the edge of the Þeld. Overall, there was a greater percent of mining damage near the edge of the Þeld. Additionally, three times as many asparagus miners were found in the canopy compared with ground-level traps. There were 12 times as many asparagus miner adults on edges bordered by another asparagus Þeld than on ones bordered by forest. Taken together, our results indicate that while asparagus miner management in the beginning of the growing season should focus on the entire Þeld, in the latter half of the season, growers could save money and resources by targeting miner adults at the edges of Þelds. Finally, conserving the remaining naturally forested landscape and planting borders of trees may help ameliorate pest pressure in asparagus Þelds. RESU ´MEN Ophiomyia simplex se alimenta exclusivamente de espa ´rrago y es un posible vector de hongos pato ´genos implicados en el deterioro temprano de campos de espa ´rrago. A la fecha se tiene poco conocimiento sobre la distribucio ´n espacial y temporal de O. simplex. Nuestro estudio evaluo ṕatrones espaciales y temporales de adultos del minador del espa ´rrago en campos comerciales de espa ´rrago en Michigan en el 2011 y 2012. Semanalmente se muestrearon adultos de O. simplex y su dan ˜o, durante la temporada de crecimiento del espa ´rrago usando trampas adesivas amarillas situadas en el exterior, borde e interior de cultivos comerciales. Para determinar la distribucio ´n vertical de adultos, las trampas fueron situadas tanto en el dosel como a nivel del suelo. Durante la primera generacio ´n los adultos se distribuyeron uniformemente a lo largo del cultivo. En la segunda generacio ´n los adultos se encontraron con mayor frecuencia en los bordes. En general, hubo un mayor porcentaje de dan ˜o por minado en los bordes del cultivo. Adicionalmente se encontro ´tres veces ma ´s adultos de O. simplex en el dosel del cultivo que en trampas ubicadas a nivel del suelo. Se encontro ´12 veces ma ´s adultos en los bordes del cultivo rodeados de otros campos de espa ´rrago, que en bordes rodeados por bosque. En conjunto nuestros resultados indican que mientras que al comienzo de la temporada del cultivo, el manejo del minador del espa ´rrago se debe enfocar a todo el campo, en la segunda mitad de la temporada los agricultores podrõ ´an ahorrar dinero y recursos dirigiendo el control a los bordes del cultivo. Finalmente, la conservacio ´n del bosque natural y la siembra de a ´rboles en los bordes del cultivo ayudara ´a disminuir la presio ´n de las plagas en los campos de espa ´rrago.

2024, Florida Entomologist

BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and... more

2024, Florida Entomologist

2024, Brazilian Journal of Science

Por consequência da diversidade no repertório de tarefas individuais em colônias de vespas sociais, fêmeas dominantes e subordinadas diferem significativamente em sua longevidade e, por isto, elas e outros insetos sociais são particularmente interessantes para o estudo de longevidade e dinâmica populacional. As atividades de manutenção da colônia que envolvem atividades de defesa do ninho, forrageio e cuidado com a prole demandam muito gasto energético e riscos, podendo afetar significativamente a longevidade média das vespas. Portanto, o objetivo deste estudo foi testar a hipótese de que fatores extrínsecos impostos pela atividade forrageadora são determinantes para a longevidade média de operárias de Mischocyttarus cassununga. Colônias dessa espécie em condições de campo e laboratório foram mapeadas com o objetivo de determinar a longevidade média e o padrão de mortalidade das suas operárias. A longevidade média das operárias observadas no campo foi de 28,6 dias e o valor de entropia (H) igual a 0,96, determinando elevada mortalidade das operárias jovens, provavelmente devido ao desgaste fisiológico decorrente da atividade forrageadora, falta de orientação espacial e possível ação de predadores. Nas colônias estudadas em laboratório, a longevidade média das operárias se estendeu para 142,4 dias, e o valor de entropia foi de 0,26, indicando um padrão de mortalidade inverso, com poucas mortes de indivíduos jovens e maior probabilidade dos indivíduos atingirem a longevidade máxima da espécie. Fatores como desgaste fisiológico, intempéries e ação de predadores, entre outros, são decisivos para determinar a expectativa de vida e a longevidade média das vespas desta espécie.

2024, Psyche

Foraging behavior in social wasps is important in the development of the colony and reflects an important ecological interaction between the colony and the environment. Although the social traits of the colony play a role in the foraging activities, the conditions that establish the space and time limits are mainly physical. Here, we evaluate colonies of Polybia paulista throughout one year in order to verify the foraging activities and the items collected, as well as the importance of temperature, relative humidity, and solar radiation on motivating foraging. Collection of liquids was always higher than that of solids; preys were collected all year long, and nests showed two annual episodic expansions. The linear mixed effects (LME) model used to analyze which weather factors influence the foraging showed temperature as the most influencing factor on the collection of materials.

2023, Acta Herpetologica

Many field studies of ecology or conservation require individual identification of the animals, and for this, several marking techniques have been developed. However, no specific labeling technique has been tested for fossorial reptiles, such as amphisbaenians. We describe the use of Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags as a long-term labeling method of the amphisbaenian Trogonophis wiegmanni. We present the details of the marking procedure and examine the benefits and drawbacks of the technique considering the fossorial environment. After marking many individuals in a long-term field study, we can ensure that the marks were easily applicable and were not lost over a period of at least four years. Moreover, PIT tags did not negatively affect the body condition of amphisbaenians. We conclude that PIT tags are useful for doing field studies of this and similar fossorial species.

2023, Sociobiology

The study of foraging activity in wasps is important to understand the social organization and its evolutionary success. We examined aspects of the daily and seasonal foraging activities of Mischocyttarus nomurae Richards wasps, in terms of individual trip durationin the collection of different resources. The study was undertaken in two areas in the municipality of Rio de Contas, Bahia State, Brazil. Observations were done for 10 colonies of M. nomurae in their post-emergence phase under natural conditions, five during the rainy period and five during the dry period. The amplitudes of the activity hours were similar between the two periods. The foraging efficiency index was higher (80.56%) during the rainy period than during the dry period (74.42%), with greater percentages of returns with all foraged items (with the exception of prey captures). Temperature influenced positively and significantly the number of trips performed during the rainy period, while temperature and luminosity positively influenced the number of trips performed during the dry period. The mean duration of trips for different resources were greater during the dry period (with the exception of wood pulp), although those differences were not statistically significant. Wasps spent the most part of their time nectar (83.60 min), followed by prey (21.06 min), and wood pulp (1.40 min). We observed that 52.56% of the foraging individuals of M. nomurae collected only a single resource type.

2023, Sociobiology

The aim of this study was to analyze the distribution pattern of the food collected among groups of individuals in Mischocyttarus drewseni colonies. This behavior is one of the first actions exhibited by the foragers when they arrive in the colonies. Regarding nectar and prey collection, 95.90% of the collected nectar was given to larvae, whereas 3.57% to dominant individuals and 95.94% of the collected prey were given to the larvae, 2.54% to the dominant members, while the remainder of both was given to the workers. Despite not being significant, it was possible to observe a difference in food distribution among larvae, with larger larvae receiving more food than others. When the forager returns to the nest with pulp, it adds this material to cells in 64.29% of the times. Males showed agitated behavior with the arrival of the foragers, and sometimes took the foraged material from them.

2023, Bird Conservation International

SummaryThe Yellow Cardinal Gubernatrix cristata is a globally endangered passerine from the southern cone of South America. Because of its conspicuous plumage and very attractive song, it suffers considerably from illegal pet trade. The largest remaining populations are found in Argentina, but no coordinated efforts have been made thus far to understand better its current distribution and conservation status. During three annual surveys supported by a citizen science programme, more than 140 volunteers surveyed 644 geographical points during spring and detected 221 Yellow Cardinals. Based on the survey results, we evaluated the presence of cardinals within protected areas in Argentina and found that the species was only detected in four of them, two of which were private reserves with a low level of protection. We also found that the species was not restricted to the ‘Espinal’ ecoregion, but also inhabited ‘Monte’ and ‘Chaco’ ecoregions, which are generally drier. This citizen scien...

2023, New Zealand Journal of Zoology

We recorded the numbers of cells, and where possible distinguished between cells containing pupating larvae and vacated cells, from 585 paper wasp nests from the northern North Island, New Zealand, plus nest site characteristics of 540 of these nests. Nests of Polistes chinensis antennalis and P. humilis developed at similar rates in early summer. P. c. antennalis nests were larger at the Post-emergence stage than those of P. humilis, and contained more vacated cells but less capped cells. All of the P. c. antennalis nests had reached the Post-emergence stage by February in Northland, but not in the other regions. P. c. antennalis nests in the Post-emergence stage were larger in Northland than further south, and contained the most capped or vacated cells. Nests of both species were usually found in northern-facing sites. Substrate did not affect nest size. Differences between the species in nest sites included greater use of manmade structures by P. c. antennalis; the use of leaves by P. humilis only; and a higher average nest site height in P. humilis. These differences in nest site selection may reduce competition between the species.

2023, Revista Brasileira de Entomologia

2023, Brazilian Journal of Science

2023, Sociobiology

Mischocyttarus cerberus stands out among the most investigated species of the eusocial paper wasp, in Brazil. While the adult characteristics were relatively well reported in the earlier studies, very meager information was available regarding their immature stages. This study provides a description of the immature morphology of the general brood of M. cerberus, by studying the number of instars and analyzing the degree of influence exerted by some of the environmental factors on the individuals in the immature phases. This work involves a detailed study of 72 wasp colonies from Rio Claro and Ribeirão Preto. Using the larvae drawn from 41 nests, the number of instars was calculated; besides, the degree to which a few environmental factors could affect the immature brood development was assessed in 31 nests. Eggs showed patterns similar in terms of form and size to that of the species described earlier. The two ventral lobes, characteristic of the Mischocyttarus larvae, were fully de...

2023, Sociobiology

Mischocyttarus latior (Fox) occurs in Bolivia and in Brazil and has been recorded in Cerrado areas from southeast Brazil. The objectives of the present study were to describe the immature stages of M. latior, determine the development time of the immature stages and determine which factors affect its duration. Daily mappings were performed from March 1994 to August 1995 in 22 nests. Two nests were also collected and dissected to characterize immatures. Larvae presented five instars and unlike most Mischocyttarus, M. latior has only a single lobe on the abdominal sternite, which is vestigial in third instar, emergent in fourth instar and fully developed in the fifth instar larvae. The mean duration of the immature stages (from egg laying to adult emergence), was 67.38 ± 9.41 days, a longer period than the total duration of the immature stages of other previously studied species. The development time of the immatures was variable, depending on the colony development stage, with develo...

2023

We studied variations in the size of breeding colonies and in breeding performance of White Storks Ciconia ciconia in 2006-2008 in northeast Algeria. Each colony site was characterized using 12 environmental variables describing the physical environment, land-cover categories, and human activities, and by three demographic parameters: the number of breeding pairs, the number of pairs with chicks, and the number of fledged chicks per pair. Generalized linear mixed models and the self-organizing map algorithm (SOM, neural network) were used to investigate effects of biotic, abiotic, and anthropogenic factors on demographic parameters and on their relationships. Numbers of breeding pairs and of pairs with chicks were affected by the same environmental factors, mainly anthropogenic, which differed from those affecting the number of fledged chicks per pair. Numbers of fledged chicks per pair was not affected by colony size or by the number of nests with chicks. The categorization of the environmental variables into natural and anthropogenic, in connection with demographic parameters, was relevant to detect factors explaining variation in colony size and breeding parameters. The SOM proved a relevant tool to help determine actual dynamics in White Stork colonies, and thus to support effective conservation decisions at a regional scale. Keywords White Stork Á Ciconia ciconia Á Algeria Á Breeding performance Á Colony site Á Conservation Zusammenfassung Welche Umweltfaktoren regulieren Koloniegröße und Bruterfolg beim Weißstorch Ciconia ciconia?-der Einsatz von Selbstorganisierenden Karten Untersucht wurden Unterschiede in Brutkoloniestärke und Bruterfolg bei Weißstörchen Ciconia ciconia in Nordostalgerien, in den Jahren von 2006-2008. Jede Kolonie wurde anhand von zwölf Umweltvariablen charakterisiert, welche Auskunft über physische Umweltbedingungen, Landbedeckung und menschlichen Einfluss gaben, sowie anhand von drei demografischen Parametern: der Anzahl der Brutpaare, der Anzahl von Paaren mit Küken und der Anzahl flügger Junge pro Paar. Es wurden Generalisierte Lineare Gemischte Modelle und der Selbstorganisierende Karten-Algorithmus (Self-Organising Map, SOM, ein neuronales Netz) angewendet, um die Wirkung biotischer, abiotischer und anthropogener Faktoren auf die demografischen Parameter und die Beziehungen zwischen diesen zu untersuchen. Die Anzahl der Brutpaare und die der Paare mit Küken wurden von denselben (hauptsächlich anthropogenen) Umweltfaktoren beeinflusst. Dagegen wurde die Communicated by P. H. Becker.

2023, Florida Entomologist

2023, Anais da Sociedade Entomológica do Brasil

Dispersion and Foundation of New Colonies in Polistes versicolor (Olivier) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) Pre-emergence stage of Polistes versicolor (Olivier) colonies was studied on the following aspects: dispersal of females, foundation of new colonies, growth of the nests, duration of the stages and lifespan of the foundresses. Shifts of females among the founding nests were considered as an attempt to usurp other nests, since hierarchies of dominance were early established in the new colonies. Shifts were facilitated by the parentage of the foundresses.

2023, Bird Conservation International

2023, Acta Zoológica Lilloana

2023, Revista de …

Um ninho no qual duas espécies distintas de Mischocyttarus coexistiram por 138 dias foi observado durante dez meses no Biotério do Instituto de Biociências da UNESP, Rio Claro, Brasil. As espécies foram identificadas como Mischocyttarus (Haplometrobius) cerberus styx Richards, 1940 e Mischocyttarus (Phi Saussure 1854 = Monocyttarus Richards, 1978) cassununga R. von Ihering, 1903. Ninhos de ambas as espécies são comumente encontrados o ano todo no local, às vezes muito próximos uns dos outros. As principais ocorrências comportamentais observadas no ninho foram: coexistência inicial entre duas fêmeas de cada espécie, trofalaxis, emergência de uma segunda fêmea de M. cassununga que cohabitou o ninho por curto espaço de tempo, gradativo aumento de dominância da fêmea de M. cerberus styx, canibalismo, abandono do ninho pela fêmea de M. cassununga originalmente encontrada, desenvolvimento de apenas a prole de M. cerberus styx e declínio do ninho. Descritores: Coexistência interespecífica. Dominância. Vespas. Mischocyttarus cerberus styx. Mischocyttarus cassununga. Interespecific coexistence in Mischocyttarus Saussure (Hymenoptera: Vespidae, Mischocyttarini) during the initial stage of the development of a nest. A nest in which two different species of wasps coexisted during 138 days was observed during 10 months at the

2023, Florida Entomologist

2023, Sociobiology

RF torres 1 , VO torres 1 , YR súarez 2 , WF antonialli-junior 2 Introduction Eusocial wasps are represented by 29 genera in the Neotropical region, 22 of which are recorded in Brazil (Carpenter & Marques, 2001). These wasps occupy many kinds of habitats, primarily associated with human constructions (Lima et al., 2000; Prezoto et al., 2007), i.e., show a high degree of synanthropy (Fowler, 1983). Among the numerous factors that contribute to the success of social wasps, the colony productivity stands out. Productivity depends on ecological factors including changes in temperature, prey availability, and number of founders, among others (Gamboa et al., 2005; Inagawa et al., 2001). According to Gamboa (1978), for example, colonies of Polistes metricus (Say) founded by association are more productive than those initiated by a single female. Tibbetts & Reeve (2003) found that Polistes dominula (Christ) colonies initiated by association better Abstract Currently, the main impacts on biodiversity are generated by human activities in natural environments. Monitoring the number of species of social wasps nesting attached to buildings is important to evaluate the effect of this activity on colony productivity. This study evaluated the effect of habitat alteration, particularly by human activity on the productivity of colonies of the wasp Polistes versicolor. We evaluated 20 abandoned nests and compared the productivity parameters: number of cells constructed, number of adults produced, nest dry mass, proportion of productive cells, number of generations, and diameter of the petiole. Most of these parameters showed higher values in the colonies nesting in the habitat less altered by human activity. Therefore, productivity was significantly higher in this habitat. In the nests, regardless of the site, the cells that were central and closer to the petiole were the most productive. Colonies in the two habitats used different strategies: in the habitat more altered by human activity, the wasps invested more in reusing cells than in enlarging the nest. However, the species continues to nest in the urban area, probably because of decreased interspecific competition, predation, and interference from climate variations.

2023, Mammalogy Notes

La Nutria Neotropical de río Lontra Longicaudis (Olfers, 1818), es un mamífero semiacuático que ocupa una amplia distribución geográfica, desde México hasta el norte de Argentina (Waldemarin & Colares 2000, Arellano et al. 2012). Es una especie bastante versátil, que tolera ciertas modificaciones ambientales y puede ocupar áreas cercanas a zonas de actividad antrópica. Sin embargo, las poblacionales de mayor densidad se encuentran en áreas con extensas redes acuáticas, baja contaminación química y carga orgánica, y baja densidad humana (Larivière 1999, Charre-Medellín et al. 2011, Botello et al. 2006). Se alimentan básicamente de peces, crustáceos, moluscos y son consumidores de pequeños mamíferos, aves, reptiles, insectos e inclusive frutos (Larivière 1999, Quadros & Monteiro-Filho 2000, Gallo-Reynoso et al. 2008, Botello et al. 2006, Charre-Medellín et al. 2011). En esta nota se registra la depredación de una babilla juvenil (Caiman crocodilus fuscus) por parte de la Nutria Neotro...

2023, Bird Conservation International

2023, Sociobiology

Introduction According to Wilson (1990), the non-reproductive division of labor among nestmates is the evolutionary advantage that most promoted the ecological success of social insects. This division of labor among workers that continues throughout their lifetimes is known as temporal polyethism; or if according to the morphology of the individual, morphological polyethism (Naug & Gadagkar, 1998a). This phenomenon is most common in termites (Noroit, 1989) and ants (Hölldobler & Wilson, 1990), and was recently discovered in a species of bee, Tetragonisca angustula (Latreille) (Grüter et al., 2011). Temporal polyethism is evident in honey-bees (Seeley, 1995) and stingless bees (Sommeijer, 1984

2023

Studies on the thermal biology of fossorial reptiles that examine the relationship between the body temperature and thermal environment are needed to determine the extent of their thermoregulation abilities. This study assessed the thermal biology of Amphisbaena munoai Klappenbach, 1969 in the rocky fields of the Rio Grande do Sul and in the laboratory. The body temperature of most individuals was between 24 and 30 °C, both in the field (n = 81) and laboratory (n = 19). More individuals were caught in winter (n = 55) and spring (n = 60) than in summer (n = 25) and fall (n = 45), and in spring, individuals showed similar nocturnal and diurnal activities. In the laboratory, we found individuals with body temperatures up to 5 °C higher than the ambient temperature (n = 4), suggesting that some physiological mechanisms participate in the thermoregulation of these animals. Amphisbaena munoai is a thigmothermic species that is capable of actively regulating its temperature by selecting microhabitats such that its various activities occur within an ideal temperature range. This study is the first to evaluate the effect of seasonality and diurnal and nocturnal variations on the thermoregulation of an amphisbaenid.

2022, Sociobiology

2022

As vespas sociais apresentam variados padroes arquitetonicos para seus ninhos, que podem diferir em formato, tamanho, cor e material utilizado na construcao. Mischocyttarus mirificus possui um padrao de distribuicao das celulas do favo, em que estas se mantem na vertical com uma unica celula de espessura, apresentando um formato filiforme que camufla-se em meio ao substrato, sendo entao o objetivo deste estudo detalhar os habitos de nidificacao da especie, produtividade e quantificar o grau de camuflagem dos ninhos. Ao todo foram analisadas 40 colonias em seu habitat natural e seis dissecadas em laboratorio para coletas de dados sobre os habitos de nidificacao da especie e produtividade, alem de um teste realizado com fotografias dos ninhos, para quantificar a porcentagem de camuflagem destes quando inseridos no substrato de nidificacao. As colonias foram encontradas principalmente em florestas riparias quando haviam elementos na paisagem que permitissem sua camuflagem. De acordo co...

2022

Resumen Se presentan los resultados de la primera campaña del Programa de Búsqueda del Cardenal Amarillo, en el marco de Proyecto de Cátedra de la materia Biodiversidad de la Tecnicatura Superior en Conservación de la Naturaleza, realizada en mayo de 2011 en la localidad de Canalejas, General Alvear, provincia de Mendoza. Se encontraron 12 ejemplares de cardenal amarillo (Gubernatrix cristata) en un parche de vegetación xerófila perteneciente a la provincia fitogeotgráfica de monte. A pesar que su presencia ha sido registrada en diversas publicaciones, solo incluye la especie en listas o habla de su presencia, pero no queda hecho el registro concreto de su avistado. Este hallazgo, confirma la presencia de esta especie para la provincia, por avistado directo. Palabras Claves: cardenal Amarillo, Gubernatrix cristata, presencia, Mendoza. Abstract The results of the first campaign of the Yellow Cardinal search programme are presented as part of the biodiversity project of the "Tecn...

2022

Se evaluó la relación entre la abundancia del Cardenal Común (Paroaria coronata) y las características del bosque a una escala paisajística y del rodal en el norte de la provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Fueron trazadas 46 transectas en 20 sitios dentro del área de distribución de un bosque nativo conocido localmente como Talares y se usó el programa ‘Distance’ para estimar la abundancia y densidad de cardenales durante el invierno 2009. La densidad promedio fue de 0,29 individuos/ha y se detectaron en promedio 0,34 individuos/100m de transecta recorridos. La abundancia de cardenales estuvo negativamente asociada a la distancia entre parches de bosque y positivamente asociada con el ancho de copa de los árboles. Los sectores del bosque con árboles de mayor tamaño podrían ofrecer mayor ocultamiento y mejores sitios de anidación y alimentación, mientras que la menor distancia entre los parches podría facilitar la dispersión y ofrecer corredores que les permitan acceder a nuevos si...

2022

2022, Environmental Entomology

We examined the abundance, nesting ecology, and colony survival of two invasive species of paper wasp, Polistes dominula Christ (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) and Polistes chinensis Pérez (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), within their invaded range in New Zealand. The more recent invader, P. dominula, exhibited a strong habitat preference, reaching the highest abundances within suburban areas with an average of 87.4 wasps per 1,000 m2. Coastal habitats were also found to be suitable environments for P. dominula, although wasp abundance in these areas was comparatively lower than suburban sites at 26.5 wasps per 1,000 m2. Although P. chinensis were observed to build more nests in coastal habitats, this was not reflected in the abundance of adult wasps in these areas. Nests of P. dominula were larger and more productive, likely a result of the multiple founding and earlier emergence of workers compared to P. chinensis. Both species exhibited significant differences in nest survival, with P. dominula ...

2022, Psyche: A Journal of Entomology

The genusMischocyttaruscomprises 245 species of neotropical basal eusocial wasps. They form small colonies (rarely more than few tens of individuals); castes are morphologically undifferentiated and determined behaviorally by agonistic interactions. The aim of this study was to verify the effects of the experimental disruption of social hierarchy on foraging activity ofMischocyttarus cerberus styx. We observed six colonies in postemergence phase and recorded data on the foraging activity under two experimental conditions: (1) removal of lower-ranked females and (2) removal of higher ranked females, except the queen. Our results showed that the removal of higher-ranked females had higher effect on the number of foraging trips ofM. cerberus styxthan the removal of lower-ranked females (the number of foraging trips/hour decreased by 66.4% and 32.7%, resp.). Such results are likely due to the social organization of this species and the presence of a distinct class of females, which in t...

2022, Landscape and Urban Planning

The rapid growth of cities in many parts of the world has stimulated an increasing number of ecological studies of urban environments. Here, 12 study sites in the city of Belo Horizonte (MG), southeastern Brazil, were compared to analyze the effects of habitat changes related to urbanization on the species richness and abundance of native wasps and bees. Two spatial scales were considered: large portions of the urban landscape (entire sites) and small areas within these sites (public squares). Overall, the abundance of advanced eusocial bees (i.e. stingless bees), which were the dominant species, was directly affected by the loss of vegetation cover and the increase of buildings associated with urbanization. The magnitude of this effect varied according to the nesting habits of each species. The loss of vegetation cover associated with urbanization also had a negative effect on the abundance and species richness of advanced eusocial wasps. Generalist species of bees and wasps, such as Trigona spinipes and Polybia occidentalis, were very abundant and not sensitive to the habitat changes related to urbanization. Advanced eusocial bees also responded to small-scale habitat changes (size and vegetation cover of public squares). No relation was found between the solitary and the primitive eusocial wasps and bees and the habitat changes considered here. Conservation strategies in urban environments need to consider different spatial scales in order to maintain or enhance the local diversity of wasps and bees.

2022, Psyche: A Journal of Entomology

2022, Bird Conservation International

2022, Sociobiology

2022, EntomoBrasilis

The objective of this work was to describe the pattern forage of Polistes versicolor (Olivier) waps, verifying the influence of environmental variables on foraging activity. From January to December of 2007, 24 observations of P. versicolor foraging activity in a eucalypt plantation were accomplished. During 10 hours, the intensity of light, wind speed, air humidity and temperature were registered close to the colony. The P. versicolor foraging activity began at 7:30 a.m. and extended to 6:00 p.m. The average departure of workers per hour was 9.62 ±16.67 (0-84), and arrivals per hour were 9.76 ±18.14 (0-87). The most intense activities of the colonies occurred in the period between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. The Spearman´s correlation test revealed that the workers' departures of P. versicolor were stimulated by the increase of light intensity (p< 0.0001) and air temperature p< 0.0001) and the decrease of the humidity (p< 0.0004). The wind speed, however, did not present representative index correlation with the daily activity of the species (p= 0.54). The multivariate linear regression analysis showed that air temperature is the most influential on the P. versicolor foraging activity (p< 0.0001). This study demonstrated that the best weather for P. versicolor departure to forage is a sunshine day, hot temperature and low humidity. In tropical areas these days are common in the summer.

2022, Revista chilena de historia natural

Polistes ferreri Saussure, 1853 is a Neotropical paper wasp often found in anthropic environments. However, there is little information available on biological, ecological and behavioral interactions of this species under these environmental conditions. This study investigated the colony cycle, foundation strategy and nesting biology of this species. From March of 2000 to February of 2004, several colonies were studied in the municipal district of Juiz de Fora, in southeastern Brazil. The colony cycle events of P. ferreri are concentrated in specifi c periods of the year. The colonies are established principally by association of females, the latter is the foundation strategy that confers the greatest success. Nidifi cation on manmade substrates seems common for the species. The peduncle of the nest is increased in width to support the weight of colony members. Likewise, cells are increased in height, in accordance with the size of the layers of meconium, allowing accommodation of the immature. It is suggested that, at least for postemergent colonies of P. ferreri, the cost of nest construction is not a factor limiting the development of the colonies. Finally, the results also support the idea that the reuse of cells is an advantageous strategy because it saves costs related to the construction of new cells.

2022, Revista Brasileira de …

2022, Boletín de la Sociedad Argentina de Botánica

La definición de las ecorregiones incide sobre el uso de la tierra ya que éstas son tomadas como base para la formulación de políticas de manejo y conservación. Los disturbios provocan variaciones de la vegetación entre sitios cercanos dificultando el establecimiento de límites entre regiones. Con el objetivo de analizar un gradiente geográfico en un área transicional entre el Espinal y el Monte, se caracterizaron estructura y composición de la vegetación leñosa en el noreste de la Patagonia y se evaluó en qué medida sitios cercanos con diferencias estructurales presentaban diferencias composicionales asimilables a cada ecorregión. La variación de la composición florística presentó cambios más importantes en dirección E-O que en dirección N-S, reflejando un amplio gradiente de transición Espinal-Monte. Los cambios estructurales más claros fueron la disminución de la altura y cobertura arbórea en oposición a la cobertura arbustiva. Tales cambios resultaron menos asociados con la vari...

2022

There is a well-marked difference in the intensity offoraging of i'o/istes lanio lanio(Fabr.) between wet and warm, and dry and cold seasons, suggesting a kind of metabolic adjustment to seasonal temperature and relative humidity changes. Nectar was the principal food collected by the foragers either during the day or along lhe season, and it is available for both adults and larvae. Data on duration of the foragingtrips are given. The foragers are not specialized in a given task: the sarne individual could collect more than one kind of material. Active colonies occur throughout the year. This combined to their natural dependence on several noxious insects ntay suggest their use as a potential biological control agent.

2022, Journal of Avian Biology

Nest boxes provide sheltered nesting sites for both passerines and paper wasps. Although neither wasps nor birds appear to evict the other once one is fully established, it is unclear which is the dominant competitor at the onset of the breeding season. Using wire mesh, we excluded birds but not golden paper wasps Polistes fuscatus from alternating boxes along a transect through edge habitat in North Carolina from 2006 Á 2008. If wasps dominate Carolina chickadees Poecile carolinensis and eastern bluebirds Sialia sialis during the early spring (all have similar nest initiation dates), we would expect wasps to settle in both box types at equal frequencies. However, if birds dominate wasps, we would expect wasp nests to be concentrated in ''bird-proof'' boxes. We found wasps in bird-proof boxes significantly more often than in bird-accessible boxes, indicating that secondary-cavity nesting birds are able to exclude wasps from available nest sites. Additionally, we found that during the period of nest initiation, birds usurp wasps more often than vice versa.

2022, Mammalogy Notes

2022, Egyptian British Biological Society (EBB Soc)

The Zoril Ictonyx striatus is one of the rarest mammals of Egypt, known from only two specimens collected more than 50 years ago. The collection of two new specimens and the observation of others in the Gabal Elba area provide new data on this little-known animal in Egypt. In this paper we provide information on the morphology of this species, and its cranial and dental characters, in comparison with published data on the species from Egypt and rest of Africa. We also present some data on its habitat requirements and feeding habits.