New records of association between social wasp colonies and the Yellow Flycatcher Tolmomyias spp. (Passeriformes: Rhynchocyclidae) in Northeast Brazil

Eldair S. Silva; Juliana L. Santos; Weslane S. Noronha; Bruno C. Barbosa

doi:10.37486/2675-1305.ec05011

Authors

Eldair S. Silva Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4814-1166
Juliana L. Santos Universidade do Estado da Bahia, Barreiras, BA, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9802-9538
Weslane S. Noronha Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5785-6286
Bruno C. Barbosa Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, AM, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2421-6239

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37486/2675-1305.ec05011

Keywords:

animal behavior, paper wasp, interspecific association, nests, Polistinae

Abstract

Social wasps are known to be aggressive, and this trait causes some other animal species to associate with these insects. These associations appear to be common in nature, however, they are not easily located nor understood. Thus, the objective of this work is to add new data to studies of associations between birds and wasps, recorded from the cerrado and caatinga of the states of Bahia, Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte, northeastern Brazil, from 2018 to 2021. Nine colonies of social wasps were found, associated with Tolmomyias flaviventris (Wied, 1831) and Tolmomyias sulphurescens (Spix, 1825) (Passeriformes: Rhynchocyclidae). The behavior of associating with wasp colonies is a form of defense of these birds against predators, and seems to be related to the breeding season of the birds, since predation on their nests is the main factor for reducing their reproductive success.

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