Level of experience modulates individual foraging strategies of an invasive predatory wasp

Abstract

Spatiotemporal variation in access to resources modulates foraging behavior. Because flexible foraging and subsequent shifting niches can have cascading effects on food webs, it becomes critical to understand what and how information is used during foraging. Yellowjackets are efficient foragers, quickly relocating rewarding resources. Foraging context and the degree of experience were found to affect subsequent behavior and foraging success. An individual forager’s likelihood of relocation was highest for carbohydrates compared to protein and for higher-quality baits. While there was no evidence that odor marking is involved in relocation of sucrose baits, foragers did utilize visual landmarks in the context of protein scavenging. Wasps with limited experience (<4 visits) with a bait responded the most to landmark displacement. However, more experienced wasps avoided misdirection and correctly cued in on the bait. Commensurate with training, a wasp forager visited more often and improved search times at the exact resource location despite displaced landmarks. Successful wasps may detect and associate multiple cues with the training micro-site; such integration of cues could allow the wasps to return to a specific location, even when obvious cues are displaced. Thus, reinforced associative learning likely contributes substantially to foraging patterns and ultimately invasion success, with resource reliability playing a large role. This emphasizes the importance of controlling for experience when comparing foraging across treatments or studies for social wasps.