Nidification of Polybia rejecta (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) associated to Azteca chartifex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a fragment of Atlantic Forest, in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil

Authors

  • Marcos Magalhães de Souza Campus Inconfidentes, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Sul de Minas – IFSULDEMINAS
  • Epifânio Porfiro Pires Universidade Federal de Lavras – UFLA, Departamento de Entomologia
  • Fábio Prezoto Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora – UFJF, Departamento de Zoologia

Keywords:

interaction, social wasp, ant, Atlantic Forest, colonies

Abstract

Records to nesting between associated social wasp Polybia rejecta(Fabricius, 1798) and the ant Azteca chartifex Forel, 1896 in the Parque Estadual do Rio Doce, Minas Gerais, are reported. This association is reported for the first time in this biome. Twelve colonies of P. rejecta founded close to nests of A. chartifex were observed. The wasp colonies were founded at a distance of about 10-20 cm from the ant nest and they did not overlap. The nests of wasps were smaller compared to ant, but the coloring was similar protective casing, making it difficult to differentiate between the wasp nest and the ant.
Issue Cover Vol.: 13 Num: 3

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Published

2013-09-01

How to Cite

Souza, M. M. de, Pires, E. P., & Prezoto, F. (2013). Nidification of Polybia rejecta (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) associated to Azteca chartifex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a fragment of Atlantic Forest, in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. Biota Neotropica, 13(3). Retrieved from //www.biotaneotropica.org.br/BN/article/view/1304

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 3 (2013): v13n3

Section

Short Communications

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