Spider prey of two mud dauber wasps (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) nesting in Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp

Abstract

Spiders captured by Trypoxylon politum (Say) and Sceliphron caementarium (Drury) in Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp over two nesting seasons represented 5 families and 22 genera (n = 5191). A strong bias for female spiders exists in both species (89.5% of all prey), with immature females comprising nearly half of these (42.6%). Comparison of contemporaneously taken prey at the same site by T. politum using typical mud organ pipe nests or trap nests revealed that the same araneid species of Neoscona and Eustala predominated. However, spiders provisioned in trap nests were more diverse taxonomically, including the first records of Mimetidae and Salticidae as prey for this wasp, as well as a variety of other araneid genera. Seasonal changes in prey composition revealed no particular patterns or correlations with nest type. Sceliphron caementarium displayed a strong preference for araneid spiders, with N. arabesca comprising 53.8% of the total; Thomisidae comprised 10.5%, nearly all Misumenops oblongus.