Interação trófica entre vespas sociais (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) e mosca branca (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)

Abstract

Knowing, and describing strategies, of animals that forage on insects of the order Hemiptera that excrete sugary substances, called honeydew, can be the basis for unraveling new multitrophic interactions and consequences of these relationships.Hemipterans such as whiteflies (family Aleyrodidae), feed on various plant species. When attacked, the plants emit a series of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), which draw the attention of herbivore predators. Also attracted by these olfactory stimuli, animals such as social wasps, can prey on phytophages, remain under biological control, or just collect the honeydew produced by them, and in this process, develop antagonism with other species. Added to this, an ethological approach to collecting and exploring social wasps in the field may be a possibility to contribute to knowledge about foraging behavior and ecological interactions. In view of the importance of these insects in agricultural systems, since there is predation of defoliators by social wasps and whiteflies for causing damage to several cultivated species, it is plausible to study these animals in orchards. In this context, the study aims to describe the search and collection behaviors of Polistes canadensis (L. 1758) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in orchards, focusing on the interaction of this social wasp with whiteflies. Secondarily, to describe interactions of these vespids with other insects and plants during foraging and to conduct preliminary tests on the olfactory response of these vespids to the hemipteran-plant VOC complex. For this, 30 hours of behavioral observations were carried out in the orchards of the Horticulture Sector of the Federal University of Ceará (UFC), in addition to a feeding test and an olfactometer in the laboratory. In the end, 9 behavioral acts of P. canadensis in orchards were described, the most relevant being the use of honeydew produced by whiteflies. Thus, the present study is the first record of the use of honeydew from the Aleyrodidae family by social wasps. This finding is of significant importance, as it can provide the basis for the development of evolutionary and ecological research and strategies in agricultural systems. These phytophages were found exclusively on guava trees and practically all carbohydrate sources were collected by P. canadensis during the observed period. It was not possible to infer whether P. canadensis respond to VOCs from the odor composition formed by the hemipteran-plant complex.