# Foraging Patterns of Two Sympatric Wasp Species: The Worldwide Invasive Polistes dominula and the Native Hypodynerus labiatus

## TL;DR

This study compares the foraging behaviors of an invasive wasp and a native wasp in Patagonia, showing how they avoid competition by using different habitats and heights.

## Contribution

The study reveals distinct foraging strategies that reduce niche overlap between an invasive and a native wasp species in urban environments.

## Key findings

- Polistes dominula forages on the ground in both open and closed habitats.
- Hypodynerus labiatus forages higher up in dense vegetation.
- The wasps' foraging differences suggest minimal overlap, aiding coexistence.

## Abstract

Invasive insects must overcome important ecological challenges when they arrive in new territories, such as interactions with other species and characteristics of the novel ecosystems. This study analyses the foraging behaviour of two wasps’ species: the invasive Polistes dominula and the native Hypodynerus labiatus. We compared how these wasps search for food in two types of environments: closed habitats with dense vegetation and open areas with sparse surrounding. We also recorded the heights at which they feed in each type of context. Our findings showed that P. dominula preferred foraging on the ground in both habitat types. In contrast, H. labiatus mostly foraged higher up in dense vegetation. These differences in habitat use during foraging suggest that both species seem to minimise overlap in their collecting sites, which may facilitate their coexistence. This research improves our understanding of how invasive and native wasps interact in urban and semi-urban areas of Patagonia.

Invasive insects pose significant ecological challenges due to their interactions with other species, which can have a considerable impact on pre-existent ecosystems. In the present study, we analysed the foraging behaviour of the invasive Polistes dominula, which was first detected in NW Patagonia in 2003, and the native wasp Hypodynerus labiatus. We evaluated their foraging behaviour in two types of environments: closed habitats with dense vegetation and open habitats without surrounding bushes and trees. Additionally, we recorded the wasps’ feeding choices at three different heights within each context. Our results showed that these sympatric wasps prefer to forage in different environments and in distinct microsite strata within each environment. Polistes dominula collected food from the ground level in both open and closed habitats, while H. labiatus was more frequently observed in closed areas, gathering resources from higher strata. The observed differences suggest that the collecting sites showed minimal overlap, which may facilitate their coexistence. These findings shed new light on the behavioural processes and interspecific interactions between a highly invasive wasp and a poorly studied native species that inhabit urban and semi urban environments in Patagonia.