Nesting ecology of a neotropical solitary wasp (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) in Panama
Giovanetti, M.
Cerceris is a very interesting genus, providing species living in all continents, in different climatic conditions, showing behaviors ranging from solitary to social. About the nesting habit of this genus, many authors described nest characteristics and prey, providing useful material for comparison. Yet, the majority of species studied so far live in temperate regions and we lack information about the tropical ones. The high number of species and their wide distribution suggest a phylogenetic adaptability that merit to be studied deeper. I investigated nest and prey of a tropical species, Cerceris binodis Spinola, on Barro Colorado Nature Monument in Panama. The study was performed during three dry seasons, marking and excavating nests, observing individual's behavior and collecting prey. The nests, reused over the same season and in following years, are especially deep as observed only in another neotropical species, Cerceris lutzi Scullen. This result could be correlated with tropical soils depth and characteristics. In spite of the species being sexually dimorphic, the subterranean cells show no bimodality in size or content. Prey, identified from specimens carried by provisioning females, belongs to Clytrinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Quantitative data on prey are analyzed comparing seasons and sites and differences emerged. Cerceris adaptability to ecological trait of the tropics is inferred to explain these differences as well as the ones observed in the nest structure.
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