Abstract
Here we report field observations of group hunting by two Neotropical species of paper wasps, Parachartergus apicalis in Costa Rica and Agelaia cf. angulata in Peru. In both cases, multiple workers simultaneously attacked live caterpillar prey. We describe the wasps’ behavior and their interactions with the relatively large-bodied (>80 mm length) caterpillars, and we discuss the implications of these observations for paper wasp behavior and ecology.
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Acknowledgments
Susan Bulova assisted with behavioral observations in Costa Rica. We thank Marie Clifford and Joel Kingsolver for sharing data and observations on sphingid caterpillar biology. Carlos Sarmiento and an anonymous reviewer made helpful comments on the manuscript. Research in Costa Rica was conducted under government research permits issued by MINAE, scientific passport 04303. S.O’D. was funded by NSF Grant IOS 1209072. Observations in Peru by J.H.H. were supported by Explorations Inc., Bonita Springs, FL.
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O’Donnell, S., Hunt, J.H. Group hunting by workers of two Neotropical swarm-founding paper wasps, Parachartergus apicalis and Agelaia sp.. Insect. Soc. 60, 369–372 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-013-0302-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-013-0302-x