Abstract
Social wasps stand out due to their role in the trophic balance of the ecosystems. These insects can get nutrients by preying on other insects, such as Lepidoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera and the decomposing remains of vertebrates. Some species, such as Polybia scutellaris, can also use pollen and nectar stored in their nests to produce honey. Some studies lay emphasis on the prey captured by social wasps, showing that predation, in some conditions, is directed to Lepidoptera larvae, such as for Polybia occidentalis, Polybia paulista and Polybia ignobilis. Other species like P. scutellaris focus on flies of the Tabanidae, Syrphidae, Muscidae and Anthomyiidae families. There are few studies with social wasps that feed on animal carcasses; this way, our study aims to report the predation on individuals of the Sarcophagidae family, which use Rattus norvegicus carcasses as a food source, by the social wasp Polybia scutellari
Highlights
Social wasps stand out due to their role in the trophic balance of ecosystems
Social wasps can obtain these substances through predation of other insects, such as Lepidoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera and from decomposing remains of vertebrates (O’Donnell, 1995; Lima & Prezoto, 2003)
Thereby, the group shows potential as possible pest control agents (Elisei et al, 2010). Some species, such as Polybia scutellaris (Telleria, 1996), can use pollen and nectar stored in their nests to produce honey
Summary
Social wasps stand out due to their role in the trophic balance of ecosystems. This is the result of their generalist and opportunistic foraging features (Hunt, 2007; Prezoto et al, 2008; Prezoto & Souza, 2015), which comprises carbohydrates such as nectar, pollen, fruit pulp (Clemente et al, 2012; Barbosa et al, 2014) and proteins. This is the result of their generalist and opportunistic foraging features (Hunt, 2007; Prezoto et al, 2008; Prezoto & Souza, 2015), which comprises carbohydrates such as nectar, pollen, fruit pulp (Clemente et al, 2012; Barbosa et al, 2014) and proteins. Social wasps can obtain these substances through predation of other insects, such as Lepidoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera and from decomposing remains of vertebrates (O’Donnell, 1995; Lima & Prezoto, 2003).
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