NEW GEOGRAPHIC RANGE AND FIRST RECORD OF <i>Seira tinguira</i> (COLLEMBOLA: ENTOMOBRYIDAE) IN A COLONY OF <i>Polistes ferreri</i> (HYMENOPTERA, VESPIDAE)

Abstract

The springtail Seira tinguira was observed for the first time in the state of Minas Gerais in a colony of the social wasp Polistes ferreri. The colony was collected in the Botanical Garden of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, a fragment of Montane Seasonal Semideciduous Tropical Forest, located in the urban perimeter of the municipality of Juiz de Fora, southeast of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. These springtails were recorded walking on the inner base of the cells of the nest close to the meconium, which served as the substrate for the Aspergillus sp. hyphomycete fungus. There was no removal or defense behavior against the springtail, however, the wasps occasionally showed alarm behavior, characterized by opening the wings, contracting the abdomen, and actively patrolling the nest.