title: A novel interference behaviour: invasive wasps remove ants from resources and drop them from a height.
abstract: This study reports a novel form of interference behaviour between the invasive wasp Vespula vulgaris and the New Zealand native ant Prolasius advenus. By videotaping interactions at bait stations, we found that wasps commonly remove ant competitors from food resources by picking up the workers in their mandibles, flying backward and dropping them unharmed some distance from the food. Both the frequency and the efficiency of the wasp behaviour significantly increased with the abundance of ant competitors. Ant removals were the most common interference events initiated by wasps when ants were numerous, while intraspecific conflicts among wasps were prominent when few ants were present. The 'ant-dropping' behaviour emphasizes how asymmetry in body sizes between competitors can lead to a pronounced form of interference, related to asymmetric locomotion modes.
authors: Centre for Biodiversity and Restoration Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand. julien.grangier@vuw.ac.nz
authors: Julien
authors: J
authors: Grangier
authors: Philip J
authors: PJ
authors: Lester
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D009520:New Zealand; D014863:Wasps / Q000502:physiology*