The nest as fortress: defensive behavior of Polybia emaciata, a mud-nesting eusocial wasp

The swarm-founding wasp Polybia emaciata is unusual among eusocial Vespidae because it uses mud, rather than wood pulp, as its primary nest construction material. Polybia emaciata nests are more durable than similarly sized paper nests. We tested the hypothesis that the defensive behavior of this wasp may have been modified to take advantage of their strong nests in defense against vertebrate attacks. We simulated vertebrate disturbances by tapping on, and breathing in, P. emaciata nests and similarly sized P. occidentalis paper nests in the same location at the same time. Polybia emaciata responses to disturbance were qualitatively different from those of P. occidentalis. The latter exit the nest and attack, while P. emaciata workers typically fled or entered the nest, attacking only after repeated and extended disturbances. We conclude that durable nest material may permit predator avoidance behavior in P. emaciata. We compare the defensive responses of P. emaciata workers with those of other swarm-founding Vespidae, and discuss several selective forces that could cause the evolution of species variation in nest defense behavior.