Abstract
Social wasps capture adult and/or immature insects to feed their larvae. Frequent observations indicate mainly small or immature insects as their prey. However, there are very few records of social wasps as predators of larger living insects. Herein, we report a predation event carried out by an understory social wasp Agelaia testacea (Fabricius, 1804) (Vespidae: Polistinae) on an adult katydid Parascudderia sp. (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Phaneropterinae), visibly larger than the wasp. This fact is added to a previous internet record of the same type of predation (Agelaia testacea in Tettigoniidae) for French Guiana in the Parc amazonien de Guyane. Studies like this contribute to understanding the trophic networks and hunting behavior of social wasps.
Highlights
Social wasps capture adult and/or immature insects to feed their larvae
Social wasps (Vespidae: Polistinae) are generalist feeders that primarily feed on nectar and fruits for carbohydrates
There are no reports for the occurrence of adult insects (Carpenter & Marques 2001; Montefusco et al 2017)
Summary
Social wasps capture adult and/or immature insects to feed their larvae. Frequent observations indicate mainly small or immature insects as their prey. According to Prezoto et al (2019), social wasps capture adult and/or immature insects to feed their larvae. There are few records of social wasps predating adult living insects: Hunt et al (1995) mention that forage loads of A. pallens may include chewed adult individuals like flies, small orthopterans, and a conglomerate of adult insects fragments, including small beetles elytra. Richards (1978) recorded reproductive individuals of termites and ants being captured, mutilated, and stored in the nests of some species of Polybia Lepeletier, 1836.
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