Use of fruit juice as a method for the collection of social wasps

Abstract

The ecological characteristics and adaptation of social Vespidae to artificial environments needs to be studied to evaluate the impact of these natural enemies on biotic communities and food webs. The community composition and efficiency of collection methods of social wasps were studied in 3 transects in an urban fragment of Atlantic Forest in the Municipal Lajinha Park in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Social wasps were captured by actively searching (visual observation) and with traps baited with fruit juices every mo for 1 yr. The diversity index of social wasps was higher with active searching than with trapping. Social wasps were more abundant in the rainy season. Forest fragments and urban areas constitute refuge sites for social wasps. Mischocyttarus sp. (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) was the most successful species in the anthropogenic environment studied.