Nidification of Polybia rejecta (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) associated to Azteca chartifex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a fragment of Atlantic Forest, in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil

Abstract

Records to nesting between associated social wasp Polybia rejecta (Fabricius, 1798) and the ant Azteca chartifex Forel, 1896 in the Parque Estadual do Rio Doce, Minas Gerais, are reported. This association is reported for the first time in this biome. Twelve colonies of P. rejecta founded close to nests of A. chartifex were observed. The wasp colonies were founded at a distance of about 10-20 cm from the ant nest and they did not overlap. The nests of wasps were smaller compared to ant, but the coloring was similar protective casing, making it difficult to differentiate between the wasp nest and the ant.

Effects of forest fragmentation on community patterns of social wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in Central Amazon

“…This species is among the social wasps that benefit from nesting associations with ants from the genus Azteca (Herre et al 1986;Corbara et al 2009;Somavilla et al 2013;Souza et al 2013). Being the only species whose abundance increased in the fragment (44 to 187), our results suggest that P. rejecta might benefit, or even disrupt, ecological patterns and colonise disturbed sites where formerly dominant species were established.…”

“…Being the only species whose abundance increased in the fragment (44 to 187), our results suggest that P. rejecta might benefit, or even disrupt, ecological patterns and colonise disturbed sites where formerly dominant species were established. This species is among the social wasps that benefit from nesting associations with ants from the genus Azteca (Herre et al 1986;Corbara et al 2009;Somavilla et al 2013;Souza et al 2013). In turn, Azteca ants are reported to thrive in transitional habitats, possibly due to higher colony survivorship and dispersal capabilities (Bruna et al 2005).…”

An uneasy alliance: a nesting association between aggressive ants and equally fierce social wasps

“…In this study we provide new information on the characteristics of P. rejecta nests and confirm that they are commonly associated with A. chartifex colonies (concerns 83.33% of P. rejecta nests; n = 48), but this mutualistic association is not obligatory for either partner (see also Jeanne, ; Richards, ; Corbara et al ., ). The distance between A. chartifex and P. rejecta nests varied between less than 10 cm and 70 cm, a larger range than previously reported (i.e., 10–30 cm; Somavilla et al ., ; Souza et al ., ; Virgínio et al ., ).…”

“…Although they probably concern a limited number of wasp species, examples of associations with ants are easily found in the Neotropics. For instance, the social wasps Synoeca surinama, S. virginea, Chartergus chartarius, Polistes pacificus, Agelaia myrmecophila, and Polybia rejecta nest close to Azteca ants (Richards, 1978;Jeanne, 1991;Corbara et al, 2009;Somavilla et al, 2013;Souza et al, 2013). Also, Protopolybia emortualis nests in close vicinity to nests of the ant Dolichoderus bidens (Corbara et al, 2009(Corbara et al, , 2018, whereas some other social wasp species nest on plants called myrmecophytes that shelter the colonies of a limited number of ant species in hollow structures (Herre et al, 1986;Corbara et al, 2009;Dejean et al, 2012).…”

“…Because they are commonly associated with arboreal ants, mostly A. chartifex, the nests of the polistine wasp P. rejecta are protected from army ant raids (Richards, 1978;Chadab-Crepet & Rettenmeyer, 1982;Corbara et al, 2009;Souza et al, 2013). In turn, the wasps protect the ant nests from bird predation (Le Guen et al, 2015).…”