Hymenopterous species using nests of the mud dauber wasp Sceliphron madraspatanum (Fabricius, 1781) (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) in Vietnam

Abstract

Summary Four solitary wasps, Apodynerus troglodytes (Saussure, 1856), Antepipona biguttata (Fabricius, 1787), Euodynerus trilobus (Fabricius, 1787) (all Vespidae: Eumeninae), and Chalybion japonicum (Gribodo, 1882) (Sphecidae), and one solitary bee, Amegilla zonata (Linnaeus, 1758) (Apidae) using nests of the mud dauber wasp Sceliphron madraspatanum (Fabricius, 1781) in Vietnam are studied. Except for C. japonicum, the others are reported for the first time to use S. madraspatanum nests. Antepipona biguttata is considered both an invader and a re-user, and the other species are only re-users of the nests of the mud dauber wasp. While A. troglodytes utilizes old nest cells of S. madraspatanum and divides each cell into its two nest cells, the other two vespid species excavate their own nest burrows in S. madraspatanum nests and build their nest cells at the terminal of the burrows. Chalybion japonicum uses old intact nest cells of S. madraspatanum. Amegilla zonata digs its own nest, builds the cells in the nests of the mud dauber wasp, and uses them as nesting and overwintering sites. The life history and nest structure of the five species are presented.