Influence of forest cover and sex on wing size and shape of a spider‐hunting wasp in the Brazilian Atlantic forest

Abstract

Abstract Habitat loss and fragmentation are major drivers of biodiversity decline, affecting species persistence and morphological traits such as wing structure. In insects, wing shape influences flight efficiency, foraging and dispersal capacity, making it a sensitive indicator of environmental pressure. We investigated how landscape structure affects wing size and shape in the solitary wasp Trypoxylon lactitarse in the Brazilian Atlantic forest, using trap nests across gradients of forest cover, edge density, heterogeneity and connectivity. Geometric morphometrics and statistical models were used to assess the effects of these landscape metrics on forewing size and shape. T. lactitarse females exhibit longer and narrower wings in areas with higher forest cover, suggesting sex‐specific morphological sensitivity linked to differing ecological roles, while female wing size and male morphology remain unaffected. These results indicate that female wing shape reflects ecological pressures associated with landscape alteration and emphasizes the importance of preserving forest cover to maintain the functional integrity of neotropical wasp populations, with important implications for biodiversity conservation.