title: Bait and habitat preferences, and temporal variability of social wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) attracted to vertebrate carrion.
abstract: In addition to feeding on carrion tissues and fluids, social wasps can also prey on immature and adult carrion flies, thereby reducing their populations and retarding the decomposition process of carcasses. In this study, we report on the occurrence and behavior of social wasps attracted to vertebrate carrion. The collections were made monthly from September 2006 to October 2007 in three environments (rural, urban, and forest) in six municipalities of southeast Brazil, using baited bottle traps. We collected Agelaia pallipes (Olivier, 1791) (n = 143), Agelaia vicina (Saussure, 1854) (n = 106), Agelaia multipicta (Haliday, 1836) (n = 18), and Polybia paulista Ihering, 1896 (n = 3). The wasps were observed feeding directly on the baits and preying on adult insects collected in the traps. Bait and habitat associations, temporal variability of social wasps, and possible forensic implications of their actions are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Parasitología, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho," Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil 18618-000. tcmoretti@yahoo.com.br
authors.forename: Thiago de Carvalho
authors.initials: Tde C
authors.lastname: Moretti
authors.forename: Edilberto
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Giannotti
authors.forename: Patrícia Jacqueline
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Thyssen
authors.forename: Daniel Russ
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Solis
authors.forename: Wesley Augusto Conde
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Godoy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D001938:Brazil; D004175:Diptera / Q000502:physiology; D017753:Ecosystem; D020387:Food Chain; D005518:Food Preferences; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012621:Seasons; D014714:Vertebrates; D014863:Wasps / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*