Occurrence and analysis of borings made by solitary wasp in caves: A study in cave ichnology

Abstract

The present study investigated entire or partially lithified nests of solitary wasps found in caves in the Brazilian states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Ceará and Bahia. The width and depth of the individual cells, as well as the length, width and height of each nest were measured, and the morphology analyzed. The volumes of the nests from Altinópolis (São Paulo State) were calculated, and the total number of cells was counted. Four different morphological patterns were found for thenests. Many of the nests show evidences of reoccupation by other wasps, even when preservation was already in progress, being both contemporary and older reoccupation patterns observed. Important processes of preservation observed were encrustation and lithification of the original nest material, with the pattern of alteration apparently depending on the location of the nest while exposed to percolating mineral-containing waters. Permineralization was, however, also observed in some of the cells. © 2011 by the Sociedade Brasileira de Paleontologia.