Biologia e ecologia comportamental da vespa social Polybia platycephala (Richards, 1978) (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Epiponini)

Abstract

Polybia platycephala (Richards, 1978) is a social swarming wasp which has its nest constituted of several lines of horizontal combs covered each one of them by an envelope. In this study, it was characterized the foundation pattern, the nest architecture, the storage pattern of resources in the colony, the colonial cycle, the population, the immature stages, and the number of larval instars of P. platycephala. Furthermore, the male of the species is described and illustrated. During the period from November 2009 the November 2010, 95 colonies were studied in antropic areas of the city of Juiz de Fora, MG. For the description of the foundation pattern, some ―ad libitum‖ observations were performed on four swarms. For analyzing the architecture of the nest, the following data were considered: coloration, length and width of the entrance orifice, and nest dimensions. The orientation angle of the colonies was established with a compass. Through the dissection of 15 colonies, it was verified the development phase and the number of adults, total of cells, vacant cells, eggs, larvae, and pupae. The largest width and the largest length of 100 eggs and the maximum width of the cephalic capsule of 400 larvae and 120 pupae were measured, and the number of larval instars is determined according to the Dyar’s Rule. It was possible to determinate that before the construction of the first cells, P. platycephala builds a slim base of vegetal material on the substrate. The initial process of construction has lasted from 10 to 15 days. The nidification in the vegetation was bigger than in constructed substrates (x²= 53.063; p < 0.0001). On average, the nests presented 2115 ± 1234 (328 - 4723) cells, which can contain up to eight combs, and they were situated about 3.0 meters above ground. The average distance between the combs was about 0.67 ± 0.09 cm (0.53 – 0.85). There was a seasonal difference in the orientation meaning of the nests founded by the species, with nests oriented mainly towards the south in the rainy season, and the north in the dry season. The events of foundation and abandonment of the colonies occurred all the year round. The colonies produced 510.26 ± 403.21 (71 – 1492) adults and these were found in different phases of the colonial cycle. The postures in the combs occurred generally from the center to the periphery, with pupae in the central cells surrounded by larvae in different instars, followed by eggs and vacant cells in the periphery. It was verified the presence of cocoons of parasitoids in the cells of five nests. It was observed the storage of sugary substance in 80% of the colonies (six in worker production stage, three in quiescence stage, two in the production of males and one in the pre-emergence). The storing always occurred in vacant cells (92.63%), cells with preys (4.88%), cells with eggs

(2.0%) or cells with small larvae (0.5%). The storing of preys was observed in two colonies, inside the cells and between the combs of the nests. The larvae have five instars, with a a mean ratio of growth of 1.57. The males of P. platycephala differ from the females with characteristics like the yellow clypeus with or without silver hairiness; antenna not so robust, with 13 segments; narrow gena; gaster with 1-6 tergitos.