Camponotus renggeri (Formicidae) predated Agelaia vicina (Vespidae) nest and occupied Parachartergus pseudapicalis (Vespidae) nest

Abstract

Ants prey on social wasps affecting the evolution of nest architecture, defense behaviors, and selection of nesting sites of these insects. The importance of social wasps in natural and agricultural ecosystems, especially in biological control, justifies studies on predation of these insects by ants. The objective of this work is to report the colony predation of the social wasp Agelaia vicina (de Saussure, 1854) and the nest occupation of Parachartergus pseudapicalis Willinck, 1959 (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) by the ant Camponotus renggeri Emery, 1894 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Atlantic Forest biome. The records occurred in 2015 and 2018 in southern Minas Gerais state, Brazil. This is the first record of C. renggeri preying on and occupying social wasp nests. This relationship between social wasps and ants constitutes an adaptation for the survival of these latter insects, and the limited number of records increases the need for research on the relevance of this phenomenon to the ecology of Atlantic Forest Hymenoptera.

Keywords

• ant
• social wasp
• Polistinae
• predation