Specialists and generalists coexist within a population of spider-hunting mud dauber wasps

Erin C. Powell and Lisa A. Taylor

Behavioral Ecology, 2017, vol. 28, issue 3, 890-898

Abstract: Lay Summary Mud dauber wasp females hunt, sting, paralyze, and pack spider prey into a mud nest for their offspring to eat. Individual female wasps of the same species, in the same population, with access to the same resources have different preferences for the spider prey that they capture. Some females specialize on only one species of spider (prey specialists) while others catch a number of species (prey generalists). Individuals’ preferences remain consistent over time.

Keywords: Araneae; individual differences; individual specialization; predator psychology; search images; Sphecidae. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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