Authors: D'adamo, P.; Lozada, M.; Corley, J.

Source: Annals of the Entomological Society of America, Volume 96, Number 5, September 2003 , pp. 685-688(4)

Publisher: Entomological Society of America

Abstract:

Local enhancement has been shown to occur in the social wasp Vespula germanica (F.), a species that feeds on live insects as well as on dead animals. Some studies suggest local enhancement is based on sight, whereas others suggest that odors emanating from wasp bodies are more important in attracting conspecifc workers to a food source. We studied whether the attraction of V. germanica foragers to meat baits increases by the addition of live conspecific foragers and analyzed which cues (olfactory and visual) elicit this attraction. Our results show that the combination of meat and wasps strongly enhances the attraction of conspecific foragers. Presenting both visual and olfactory cues together leads to a wasp response that is much greater than if isolated visual or isolated olfactory cues were added, suggesting some synergistic action of both cues.

Keywords: social insect communication; yellowjackets; German wasp; local enhancement; olfactory cues

Document Type: Research article

Publication date: 2003-09-01

More about this publication?

• Annals of the Entomological Society of America is published in January, March, May, July, September, and November. Annals especially invites submission of manuscripts that integrate different areas of insect biology, and address issues that are likely to be of broad relevance to entomologists. Articles also report on basic aspects of the biology of arthropods, divided into categories by subject matter: systematics; ecology and population biology; arthropod biology; arthropods in relation to plant diseases; conservation biology and biodiversity; physiology, biochemistry, and toxicology; morphology, histology, and fine structure; genetics; and behavior.
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