Nearnest behavior of a solitary muddaubing wasp,Sceliphron caementarium (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) |
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Authors: | Carol S Ferguson James H Hunt |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 63121 St. Louis, Missouri;(2) Present address: Department of Entomology, University of Massachusetts, 01003 Amherst, Massachusetts |
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Abstract: | Mud dauber wasps (Sceliphronspp.)construct nests by sequential flights to gather mud and return it to their aerial nests. Individual S. caementariumdiffer in the mean time spent in four states of construction: approach, daubing, inspection, and departure. Placing a novel object near nests or replacing a white object by a black one resulted in an increase in individuals' approach times but no change in departure times. Removal of objects or replacing a black object by a white one had no effect. A change in the color of objects near nests elicited increased approach times but did not affect departure. S. caementariumappears to memorize three-dimensional objects in the nearnest environment, and changes in the nearnest environment are learned during the approach flight to the nest. The frequency of significant responses to all manipulations decreased with successive visits by the wasps, suggesting habituation to nearnest changes. |
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Keywords: | behavioral sequences color discrimination habituation learning nest building proximate orientation |
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