Aspectos da atividade forragedora de Mischocyttarus cerberus styx Richards, 1940 (Hymenoptera, Vespidae): duração das viagens, especialização individual e ritmos diário e sazonal

Rodrigues da Silva, ElianiCristina Mari Noda, Silvia

The aim of this work was to relate duration of foraging trips with items collected besides establishing individual especialization and daily and seasonal rhythm of foraging activity of Mischocyttarus cerberus styx . The individuals foraged from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM during the cold season and from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM during the warm season. High temperature and luminosity and low relative humidity made such activity possible. Except for building material, for which time spent was similar in both seasons, the trips were longer during the cold season, maybe because of the low availability of the food itens on the field. The individuals that left the nest more frequently usually were the ones which had collected more items, nectar, prey, water and building material, showing that there is not individual especialization in foraging activity. On the other hand, individuals that left the nest less frequently were the ones which had a higher percentage of infruitful collections, probably because they were yonger and have less experience on foraging activity.