Abstract
Animal research is often performed in a laboratory, semi-field, or other artificial environments. This approach has the potential to better control variables during experimentation. Paper wasps often build their nests in different human-made structures (metal, plastic), but also in nonhuman-made ones (leaf, tree), suggesting considerable flexibility in the requirements for nesting. Additionally, nests of many species are composed by an uncovered comb in which all adults and immatures can be easily observed. Therefore, keeping the wasp colonies in artificial environments seems a promising way to observe their biology in detail. In this chapter, we describe how artificial environments can be used to study paper wasps.
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de Souza, A.R., Baptista, C.F., Teixeira, G.V.M., Lima, M.A.P. (2021). Artificial Environments for Studying Eusocial Wasps. In: Prezoto, F., Nascimento, F.S., Barbosa, B.C., Somavilla, A. (eds) Neotropical Social Wasps. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53510-0_23
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53510-0_23
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