Seasonality and nesting habits of the endemic social wasp Polistes ridleyi Kirby, 1890 in the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, Northeast Brazil

In: Sociobiology: an international journal on social insects, Band 70, Heft 1, S. e8541

Abstract

We studied the seasonality and made notes about the nesting habits of the endemic social wasp Polistes ridleyi Kirby, 1890 of the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago. We collected 427 adult paper wasp P. ridleyi specimens for nine months using Malaise interception traps. The highest abundance of wasps was observed in October, November, and December, a fact most likely explained by the lowest precipitation levels on the island. We recorded 38 P. ridleyi nests. However, most of them were collected in a single Cynophalla flexuosa (L.) plant. This agglomeration may suggest multi-combs behavior, as reported for another species of Polistes spp.