Different trophic positions among social vespid species revealed by stable isotopes

The social vespid wasps are common insect predators and several species behave in unison in the same biotopes. It is commonly accepted that social wasps are mainly opportunistic generalist predators without differences in prey selection and hence they compete for the same food resources. Trophic positions of six vespid wasp species and their potential prey from four sites in Finland and one in the UK were evaluated using carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes (delta C-13 and delta N-15). The difference in isotope values indicated different trophic positions among species. In general, Dolichovespula spp. showed higher delta N-15 values than Vespula spp., which suggests that Dolichovespula forage on higher trophic levels. Dolichovespula media (Retzius, 1783) showed the highest delta N-15 values, whereas Vespula vulgaris showed the lowest. Dolichovespula media partly expresses apex predator-like delta N-15 values, whereas Vespula species tend to forage on primary consumers. The largest species Vespa crabro (Linnaeus, 1758) showed also similar delta N-15 values as Vespula spp. However, delta C-13 and delta N-15 values of V. vulgaris workers varied slightly during the season. This study offers novel insights about the trophic segregation in the social wasp community, suggesting specialization in diet resource utilization, especially between Dolichovespula and Vespula.

Automated summary

This study found differences in trophic positions among vespid wasp species, with Dolichovespula foraging on higher trophic levels compared to Vespula. The analysis of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes showed that there is specialization in diet resource utilization, especially between Dolichovespula and Vespula.