Flight distance and return capacity of Polistes lanio lanio (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) workers

Abstract

Social wasps find prey mainly using olfactory cues when foraging. Flight area and the ability to return to the nest after this activity was studied for the predatory wasp Polistes lanio lanio (Fabricius) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) using mark-recapture techniques. One hundred workers of this wasp were removed from 20 nests (5 per nest), marked on the mesothorax, and released after 2 d. Wasps were released at different times and distances to reduce memorization of the flight path. We determined that P. lanio lanio workers' hypothetical foraging area was 13.2 km2 based on their greatest return capacity to nests.