A Fatal Nest Construction: Man-mixed Cement Used by Mud-daubing Wasps

Abstract

Some sphecid wasps apparently show tolerance to urban habitats. However, resilience to man-made environments may have harmful consequences when behavioral errors can lead to ecological traps. We report failures in nesting construction of Sceliphron jamaicense by erroneous choosing of building material (i.e. mud). We found a proportion of nests (1.26%)where the wasps used both mud and concrete to seal the nests. Consequently, the brood was unable to emerge through the hardened material. It seems that the discrimination between building materials appears to be poor in these hymenopterans. Such ecological traps could have long term negative consequences around urban environments.

Keywords

• Sphecidae
• Sceliphron jamaicense
• nesting behavior
• brood mortality.