The Flight Heights of Chalcid Wasps (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea) in a Lowland Bornean Rain Forest: Fig Wasps are the High Fliers1

Abstract

Tropical rain forests are characterized by their rich plant diversity and highly diverse insect faunas containing mainly rare species. Phytophagous and parasitoid insects utilizing such fragmented resources often must travel considerable distances to find suitable hosts. For small, weak-flying insects, entry into the fast-flowing air above the canopy can provide one way by which long-distance dispersal is achieved. Using sticky traps placed at different heights in a lowland rain forest of Borneo, we compared the diurnal and nocturnal flight heights of chalcids, a group of mainly very small parasitoids and phytophages, to determine if the air above the canopy was used for dispersal. Most families were represented throughout the range of trap heights, including those above the general canopy. A higher proportion of individuals were trapped above the canopy at night than during the day. Fig wasps were exceptional in that they were trapped almost entirely above the canopy. They included species associated with host trees that do not fruit in the canopy, suggesting that these short-lived, slow-flying insects actively fly up above the canopy and then use the wind to passively carry them the long distances needed to reach their highly localized and ephemeral hosts. Once the fig wasps detect the species-specific volatiles released by their host figs, they then may fly down into the canopy, where the lower wind speeds would allow them to fly actively upwind to their hosts.