Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 85 (3): 351-355, 2012
SHORT COMUNICATION
A rare but successful reproductive tactic in a social wasp (Hymenoptera: Vespidae):
Use of heterospecific nests
Successful heterospecific use of abandoned nests has been reported in birds.
Although the same behavior has been observed in wasps, the success of such tactic has not been demonstrated. We described two
cases in which the social wasp Polistes versicolor successfully reared its brood in empty nests of the social wasps
Mischocyttarus drewseni and Mischocyttarus cassununga (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). We showed that this is
a rare but a viable reproductive tactic for both solitary and associative foundress. Unlike birds, which use heterspecific nests very
similar to their own, wasps are able to use heterspecific nests that do differ from their own.
Key words:
Mischocyttarus cassununga, Mischocyttarus drewseni, Polistes versicolor.
