Community Structure of Social Wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in Riparian Forest in Batayporã, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

Reduction and destruction of riparian forests are harmful to the biota, especially the social wasps. This study analyzed the species constancy and the structure of the polistine wasp community associated with fragments of riparian forest in the municipality of Batayporã, state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Eighteen species of social wasps were collected, by the methods of active searching and traps baited with honey and sardine. Eight species were classified as infrequent, five as very frequent, and five as of intermediate frequency. The community structure, as represented by species richness, showed a significant negative correlation with the Berger-Parker dominance index, and no significant correlation with the width of the fragments and with the structural complexity of the vegetation, suggesting that the community, in this case, must be structured by the tolerance of the species and not by the vegetation characteristics, which did not limit the dispersal of the social wasps.

Keywords

• Polistinae
• species richness
• dominance index.