Provisioning patterns and choice of prey in the digger wasp Cerceris arenaria (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae): the role of prey size

Abstract

At a nest site in Northern Italy of females of the weevil-hunting digger wasp Cerceris arenaria L. (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) the provisioning activity and predator-prey relationship were investigated, in particular their specialization in choice of prey. Females were active from middle of June to end of July, and from 8.00 to 19.00. The wasps made provisioning flights throughout the day, mostly in late morning and early afternoon. Individual wasps generally only hunted for 1 or 2 prey species of all those available, maybe because of their higher abundance. The size of prey, which is positively correlated with that of the female wasps, seems to be the main factor determining choice of prey. The nature of the provisioning flights seems to be related to the size of the prey, being more frequent and shorter for smaller weevils. The correlation between prey and wasp biomass is discussed in relation to the size range of the wasps.

Keywords

• cerceris arenaria
• hymenoptera
• crabronidae
• behaviour
• nest provisioning
• prey
• curculionidae
• hunting specialization