Yellow jackets may be an underestimated component of an ant-seed mutualism

Megan T. Bale, Jennifer A. Zettler, Bradford A. Robinson, Timothy P. Spira, Craig R. Allen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

Yellow jackets (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) are attracted to the typically ant-dispersed seeds of trilliums and will take seeds from ants in the genus Aphaenogaster. To determine if yellow jacket, Vespula maculifrons (Buysson), presence interferes with seed foraging by ants, we presented seeds of Trillium discolor Wray to three species (A. texana carolinensis Wheeler, Formica schaufussi Mayr, and Solenopsis invicta Buren) of seed-carrying ants in areas where vespids were present or excluded. We found that interspecific aggression between yellow jackets and ants is species specific. Vespid presence decreased average foraging time and increased foraging efficiency of two of the three ant species studied, a situation that might reflect competition for a limited food source. We also found that yellow jackets removed more seeds than ants, suggestive that vespids are important, albeit underestimated, components of ant-seed mutualisms.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)609-614
Number of pages6
JournalSoutheastern Naturalist
Volume2
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2003

Scopus Subject Areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Yellow jackets may be an underestimated component of an ant-seed mutualism'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this