Polistes dominula (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) paper wasps detect native grasshoppers using olfactory cues

SABRINA MOREYRA; LOZADA, MARIANA; VALERIA FERNÁNDEZ-ARHEX; ANA LAURA PIETRANTUONO,

AUSTRAL ECOLOGY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2023

1442-9985

Polistes dominula is an invasive social wasp that preys on the grasshopperDichroplus elongatus, which constitutes a potential agricultural pest in NorthwestPatagonia. This grasshopper feeds on a wide variety of plants, the ‘Dandelion’(Taraxacum officinale) being one of the main food resources. In this study, bymeans of a Y-tube olfactometer, we analysed the use of olfactory cues by P.dominula in the detection of grasshoppers. Specifically, we evaluated the attractivenessof live grasshoppers, their traces (i.e. leaves with herbivory traces+ prey faeces or only faeces) and herbivory-free leaves. The results showed thatforagers equally chose olfactory cues emitted by grasshoppers and leaves withherbivory traces + faeces and herbivory-free leaves, suggesting that the leavesof the host plant also have an important role in the searching behaviour. The currentresearch is the first to demonstrate that the invasive paper wasp orients itssearch towards either the presence of grasshopper prey or the volatiles of plantleaves. These findings shed new light on predator-prey interactions mediated byolfactory cues in P. dominula, which may play a biological role as a natural controllerof D. elongatus, phytophagous pest in the invaded ecosystems.