Nest structure and building material of three species of anischnogaster (vespidae stenogastrinae) from papua new guinea

Abstract

The nest structure and material composition is described for three species of Anischnogaster Van der Vecht 1972 studied in Papua New Guinea: Anischnogaster laticeps Van der Vecht 1972, Anischnogaster sp. A and Anischnogaster sp. B. The arrangement of the brood cells differs between the three species, with nests of Anischnogaster sp. B consisting of up to 16 cells arranged predominantly in a row each separately attached to the suspension, cells of Anischnogaster laticeps forming a single comb-like cluster of three to five cells, while cell arrangement in Anischnogaster sp. A was somewhat intermediate with a tendency in the larger nests (18 cells) to form more or less distinct clusters along the suspension. The nest material of the three species was predominantly rotted vegetation fragments with little or no soil content: however, material of Anischnogaster sp. B was found to contain consistent small amounts of intact stellate plant hairs, while the material of A. laticeps was typically reinforced with a rich mycelium of fungal hyphae penetrating the fabric of the cell walls and forming an obvious dark pile on the outer nest surface of all but new nests. The recycling of brood cell material after adult emergence occurs in Anischnogaster sp. A and B but, in A. laticeps it is virtually absent although brood cells parasitised by tachinid fly larvae are completely stripped away to expose the puparia. © 1995 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.