Social wasps (Hymenoptera, Polistinae) from the Brazilian savanna

Sociobiology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 129
Author(s):  
Marcos Magalhães de Souza ◽  
Gabriel Silva Teófilo-Guedes ◽  
Ederson Tadeu Bueno ◽  
Lucas Rocha Milani ◽  
Alex Sandro Barros De Souza
Keyword(s):  
Endemic Species ◽  
National Park ◽  
Social Wasp ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Social Wasps ◽  
Brazilian Savanna ◽  
Sampling Effort ◽  
Conservation Units ◽  
Wasp Species ◽  
Mato Grosso

The present study was developed aiming to evaluate the richness and biogeography of social wasp species in the Brazilian savanna, Cerrado. In order to do so, we gathered data from specialized literature and field samplings performed at Sempre-Vivas National Park, northeastern Minas Gerais state. 18 genera and 137 species were recorded, with 4 endemic species of the Mischocytiarus genus. The results showed that Cerrado houses 40% of Brazilian Polistinae fauna and that Sempre-Vivas National Park is responsible for around 29% of this value, which makes it an important refuge for conservation of social wasps from Cerrado, as well as Mato Grosso state, due to its large number of restricted occurrence and endemic species. Nonetheless, there are Brazilian states and conservation units still lacking information for the taxon, making a bigger sampling effort in the Cerrado biome necessary, as it has been rapidly deteriorating due to human action.

scholarly journals Nest camouflage records on five social wasp species (Vespidae, Polistinae) from southeastern Brazil

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. e929
Author(s):  
Marcos Magalhães de Souza ◽  
Mateus Aparecido Clemente ◽  
Gabriel Teofilo-Guedes
Keyword(s):  
Aggressive Behavior ◽  
Social Insects ◽  
Social Wasp ◽  
Social Wasps ◽  
Southeastern Brazil ◽  
Conservation Units ◽  
Wasp Species ◽  
Defense Strategy ◽  
Colony Defense ◽  
Minas Gerais State

Social insects use different strategies to defend their colonies, including camouflage. In order to expand knowledge, regarding the strategy of camouflage in social wasps, information is presented on the camouflage pattern of the species: Parachartergus smithii (De Saussure), Parachartergus wagneri Du Buysson, Chartergellus communis Richards, Metapolybia cingulata (Fabricius) and Mischocyttarus anthracinus Richards.These species are uncommon in inventory studies in Brazil. Records occur in different Conservation Units, between 2011 and 2019, in the Minas Gerais State, Brazil Southeastern. Camouflage seems to be the main defense strategy for these species, due to the color and shape of their nests in line with the substrate, as well as their docile behavior. The exception is Metapolybia cingulata, which in addition to camouflage shows aggressive behavior in some situations, which suggests the use of different strategies in the colony defense.

scholarly journals Assemblages of Social Wasps (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Polistinae) in the Veredas of Central Brazil

Sociobiology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. e5938
Author(s):  
Lourivaldo Amancio De Castro ◽  
Sergio Ricardo Andena ◽  
Evandson José Anjos e Silva
Keyword(s):  
Social Wasp ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Social Wasps ◽  
Insect Fauna ◽  
Wasp Species ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
Central Brazil ◽  
Mauritia Flexuosa ◽  
Insect Attractant ◽  
Sweep Net

Social wasps are widely distributed in Brazil, and their distribution is intimately linked to habitats and the vegetation structure. Veredas (Brazilian Palm swamps) occur in moist soils and are characterized by the almost monodominant presence of Buriti palms (Maurítia flexuosa). The insect fauna of these environments is poorly known, especially in Central Brazil. Some studies assessing the diversity of social wasps were carried out in the State of Mato Grosso, however, there are no studies performed in the palm swamps of this region. Thus, we aim in this study to investigate the composition of wasp species in six vereda environments throughout 24 months of sampling, from august 2017 to July 2019; The specimens were collected using a sweep net, in 200m transects that were subdivided into 10 3m2 parcels. To attract the wasps, we sprayed each parcel (using a backpack sprayer) with an insect attractant made from five spoons of granulated sugar and one spoon of salt dissolved in 5 liters of water. After spraying the plot, we waited 10 minutes before starting the collections and stayed another 10 minutes to sample in each plot, totaling 200 minutes of sampling per palm swamp. A total of 1062 social wasp specimens were collected, distributed in 10 genera and 36 species. The most abundant species were Polybia cf. ruficeps xantops (Richards, 1978), Angiopolybia pallens (Lepeletier, 1836), Polybia rejecta (Lepeletier, 1836), and Mischocyttarus sp. 2, which accounted for 57% of the total collected specimens in the 60 parcels. The estimated richness for the Vereda environments was 38,88 ± 0,627, approximately 41% of the 88 species of Polistinae wasps found in the Cerrado of eastern Mato Grosso.

Diversity of Social Wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Polistinae) in an Agricultural Environment in Bambuí, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Sociobiology ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel De Castro Jacques ◽  
Marcos Magalhães Souza ◽  
Heslander Júnio Coelho ◽  
Lucas Oliveira Vicente ◽  
Luis Claudio Paterno Silveira
Keyword(s):  
Social Wasp ◽  
Social Wasps ◽  
Minas Gerais ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Biological Pest Control ◽  
Wasp Species ◽  
Agricultural Environment ◽  
Control Programs ◽  
Long Term Survey

Studies on the diversity of social wasps in agricultural environments represent an important step to identifying the ideal species to be used in biological pest control programs. There is a growing effort to acknowledge the diversity of such Hymenoptera in the state of Minas Gerais, but information on anthropized environments is still rare. The objective of this study was to obtain data on the diversity of social wasps in the Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciências e Tecnologia de Minas Gerais (IFMG), Bambuí campus, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Sampling was conducted from July 2012 to July 2014 with two methodologies: attractive traps and active search. This work confirms that a well diversified environment, even if anthropized, is rich in social wasp species. In addition, the great number of collected species, shows the importance of a long-term survey and the use of more than one method of collection. The high rate of collections of Polistes versicolor in a predominantly agricultural environment, coupled with other studies on this species as a predator of lepidopteran caterpillars, suggests the use of this species as a tool in the biological control of pests.

scholarly journals Social wasp guild (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) visiting flowers in two of the phytophysiognomic formations: Riparian Forest and campos rupestres

Sociobiology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 217
Author(s):  
Mateus Aparecido Clemente ◽  
Karine Munck Vieira ◽  
Núbia Ribeiro Campos ◽  
Kleber Del-Claro ◽  
Fábio Prezoto
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Riparian Forest ◽  
Social Wasp ◽  
Sampling Effort ◽  
Campos Rupestres ◽  
Wasp Species ◽  
Floral Visitor ◽  
Floral Visitors ◽  
Flower Visiting ◽  
One Year

Social wasps are part of the floral visitor guild. In this study we investigated the distribution of flower-visiting wasp species in two phytophysiognomies in the State Park of Ibitipoca, Minas Gerais, Brazil. We inspected flowering plants with visiting wasps along a 1 km transect in riparian forest and another 1 km transect in campos rupestres over the course of one year, for a total sampling effort of 240 hours. We found a total of 103 individuals with 15 species distributed among 7 genera, the most common belonging to the Erythroxylaceae (n = 10) and Asteraceae (n = 10) families. Asteraceae had the highest abundance (N = 55). The diversity and evenness of these insects was higher in riparian forest (H '= 0.78 and J' = 0.75) than in campos rupestres (H '= 0.30, J' = 0.39). All species visited flowers of 19 plant species in riparian forest, and eight wasp species visited 11 plant species in campos rupestres. These Polistinae acted as regular floral visitors, thus, conservation programs in these areas may be relevant for the maintenance of social wasp diversity.

scholarly journals Biodiversity of Insecta in Amazonia: Updating the geographic records of social wasps (Vespidae: Polistinae) in Acre and Rondônia States, Brazil

Sociobiology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 584
Author(s):  
Alexandre Somavilla ◽  
Raimundo Nonato De Morais Junior ◽  
Paulo Cézar Salgado Barroso ◽  
Marcio Luiz Oliveira ◽  
José Albertino Rafael
Keyword(s):  
Social Wasp ◽  
Social Wasps ◽  
Amazon Region ◽  
Amazon Rainforest ◽  
Wasp Species ◽  
High Degree ◽  
New Distribution ◽  
Malaise Traps

The Acre and Rondônia states in Brazil are part of Western Amazon rainforest in Brazil, an area harboring high biodiversity and high degree of endemisms Nevertheless, there are few studies on diversity of social wasps occurring in both states. This study presents a list of social wasps (Vespidae: Polistinae) collected using three modified Malaise traps model: Townes, Gressit and Gressit, and suspended traps in two localities in Acre and two in Rondônia state.  A total of 60 species were collected, 20 of these species are new distribution records to Acre state and 54 species, 15 of these species are new distribution records to Rondônia state. Some species are not commonly found in the collections and lists of species, and some are recorded for the first or second time to Brazil or the Amazon region. Now there are 114 species (19 genera) for Acre and 116 species (19 genera) for Rondônia. This increase may be an indication that the Polistinae richness is probably higher in the regions studied and that Acre and Rondônia may well contain a number of additional (as yet unrecorded) social wasp species. He we present an updated about the geographic records of social wasps’ fauna in both states.

scholarly journals Pest Control Potential of Social Wasps in Small Farms and Urban Gardens

Insects ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prezoto ◽  
Maciel ◽  
Detoni ◽  
Mayorquin ◽  
Barbosa
Keyword(s):  
Social Wasp ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Social Wasps ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Operational Cost ◽  
Small Farms ◽  
Small Farm ◽  
Urban Gardens ◽  
Human Welfare ◽  
Insect Populations

In environments undergoing constant transformation due to human action, such as deforestation and urbanization, the emergence of pests has become a challenge for agriculture and human welfare. In Brazil, over a thousand tonnes of pesticides are used annually, causing serious environmental damage such as the decline of insect populations. It is necessary to search for control alternatives in order to reduce the environmental impact caused by insecticides. This review aims to describe the use of social wasps as agents of biological control, focusing on the perspectives of their use in small farms and urban gardens, and to discuss the benefits of using this method. Studies have shown that 90–95% of the prey captured by wasps in small crops is made of leaf-eating caterpillars. In urban gardens, wasps diversify their prey, among which potential disease vectors, such as dipterans, stand out. We outline techniques for managing social wasp colonies in small farm and urban garden settings, including the use of artificial shelters. Among the advantages of using wasps as control agents, we highlight the practicality of the method, the low operational cost, the absence of prey resistance and the decrease of the use of insecticides.

scholarly journals Social Wasps (Vespidae: Polistinae) from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Sociobiology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Marcos Magalhães de Souza ◽  
Gabriel Silva Teofilo-Guedes ◽  
Lucas Rocha Milani ◽  
Alex Sandro Barbosa De Souza ◽  
Patrícia Pereira Gomes
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Rare Species ◽  
Rio De Janeiro ◽  
Social Wasp ◽  
Social Wasps ◽  
Brazilian Atlantic Forest ◽  
Species Occurrence ◽  
Wasp Species ◽  
Janeiro State

This study was developed aiming to compile data concerning the occurrence and distribution of social wasp species from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, as well as recording exclusive and rare species. For this purpose, we compiled studies from the specialized literature and created a table containing the species occurrence in the different states which present the phytogeographic domain. A total of 170 species was recorded, corresponding to almost a half of the richness of social wasps in Brazil, including 50 endemic, with highlight to Rio de Janeiro state, which nevertheless is insufficiently sampled. This way, from this work, it is concluded that Brazilian Atlantic Forest must be seen as an important refuge for Polistinae.

scholarly journals Updating the geographic records of social wasps (Vespidae: Polistinae) in Roraima state

Sociobiology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo Cézar Salgado Barroso ◽  
Alexandre Somavilla ◽  
Rafael Boldrini
Keyword(s):  
Light Trap ◽  
Social Wasp ◽  
Social Wasps ◽  
Amazon Region ◽  
Wasp Species ◽  
Northern Brazil ◽  
High Degree ◽  
New Distribution ◽  
Comprehensive Studies

The Roraima state in Brazil is part of Northern Amazon, an area harboring high biodiversity and high degree of endemism. Nevertheless, there are few studies on diversity of social wasps occurring in this region. This study presents a list of social wasps (Vespidae: Polistinae) collected actively and using Malaise, Suspended and Light trap in six localities in Roraima state. A total of 85 species of 14 genera were collected. Fourty-five of these species are new distribution records to Roraima state, some species are not common found in the collections and lists of species, and some are recorded for the second time to Brazil or the Amazon region. This increase may be an indication that the Polistinae richness is probably higher in the regions studied and that Roraima may well contain a number of additional (as yet unrecorded) social wasp species. More comprehensive studies are needed in order to increase the knowledge of wasp species in Roraima, contributing to increased knowledge of the diversity in Northern Brazil.

scholarly journals Conservation Units as a protection tool for social wasps in Minas Gerais state, Brazil

2021 ◽  
Vol 61 ◽  
pp. e20216125
Author(s):  
Glauco Cássio de Sousa Oliveira ◽  
Nathália Ribeiro Henriques ◽  
Mateus Aparecido Clemente ◽  
Marcos Magalhães de Souza
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Social Wasp ◽  
Social Wasps ◽  
Minas Gerais ◽  
The State ◽  
Conservation Units ◽  
The Social ◽  
Minas Gerais State ◽  
Environmental Protection Area ◽  
Protection Area

Conservation Units are an important tool for the Brazilian biota protection. However, various taxa, including the social wasps, are undersampled or are unknown in these areas. Therefore, our study aimed to assess the social wasp richness and distribution in the Conservation Units in Minas Gerais state, southeastern Brazil. The social wasps were sampled between 2015 and 2019 in the Ritápolis National Forest (FLONA Ritápolis), in the Alto-Montana Private Natural Heritage Reserve (RPPN Alto-Montana), in the Rio Machado Basin State Environmental Protection Area (APA Rio Machado) and in the Serra de São José Environmental Protection Area (APA Serra de São José), using two different sampling methodologies. Fourteen species were sampled for FLONA Ritápolis, 10 for RPPN Alto-Montana, 35 for APA Rio Machado and 19 for APA Serra de São José. Ninety-six social wasp species of the known richness in Minas Gerais were sampled in 14 Conservation Units, representing 90% of the fauna of the state. Thirty-four species are exclusive to these areas, with emphasis on the Rio Doce State Park, the Serra do Papagaio State Park, the Pandeiros River Wildlife Regufe and the APA Rio Machado. Most of the Conservation Units sampled are in the Atlantic Forest areas, but further efforts are needed in this biome, because of its accelerated destruction. There is still an urgent need for more studies in the Cerrado and Caatinga areas in the state, especially in Conservation Units.

TWO MORE SOCIAL WASP SPECIES (VESPIDAE, POLISTINAE) COLLECT MULLERIAN BODIES FROM CECROPIA TREES (URTICACEAE)

Sociobiology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherlem Patrícia de S. Felizardo ◽  
R. C. Borges ◽  
J. N. A. Santos ◽  
Orlando Tobias Silveira
Keyword(s):  
Social Wasp ◽  
Social Wasps ◽  
Wasp Species ◽  
Cecropia Obtusifolia ◽  
Interactive Behaviors

The interactive behaviors of two species of social wasps, Protopolybia chartergoides (Gribodo) and Charterginus fulvus Fox with Cecropia obtusifolia (Cecropiaceae) are described. The use of Cecropia Müllerian bodies by the two wasps is also described, as well as the distribution of this trait in Protopolybia and Charterginus.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document