Aspects of nesting biology of the widely distributed oriental solitary wasp Pison argentatum Shuckard are reported from five localities in the Philippines and one in Borneo. Completed nests comprised 1–9 cells, with average nest size differing between localities and nest substrates. Nests based on hanging roots tended to be heavily plastered with mud pellets, while those on human-made substrates were seldom plastered. Fully provisioned cells contained 7–21 spider prey. Over 75% of the 1003 prey recovered were Salticidae, while about 2% were Araneidae, the first web-building spiders recorded as P. argentatum prey. The remaining spiders were Lycosidae and Oxyopidae, like Salticidae mostly long-sighted non-web-building hunters, but also new prey family records for this wasp. P. argentatum offspring from three samples showed sex ratios (male/female) of 0.41, 1.53 and 2.40.
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society
Vol. 77 • No. 4
October 2004
Vol. 77 • No. 4
October 2004
nest structure
Pison
prey
Sphecidae