A Technique for Transferring Nests of Polybia ( hymenoptera : Vespidae : Epiponini ) Wasps in Anthropized Environment

Epiponini is composed of swarming social wasps which include19 genera (Carpenter & Marques, 2001; Carpenter, 2004; Noll et al., 2021). The most widespread genus is Polybia, with 56 species and 19 subspecies distributed across the Neotropical region (Jeanne, 1991; Carpenter et al., 2000; Noll et al., 2021). Polybia nests are sessile or suspended, constructed with mud or vegetable fiber with a brown or gray envelope. Nests have a circular entry located in the peripheral or in the lower region which is aligned to connect with internal combs (Richards, 1978; Wenzel, 1998). The secondary combs are sessile and attached to the preceding envelope, and the new cells are constructed in the lower portion (phragmocyttarous nests) (Wenzel, 1998; Somavilla, 2012; Noll et al., 2021; Barbosa et al., 2021). These social wasps are model organisms in studies of evolution and social behavior origin due to the specialization Abstract Social wasps are model organisms in studies related to evolution and social behavior origin. They show high degree of sinanthropism and due to their feeding habits, they play important ecological roles. However, wasps are considered dangerous, hence their nests are destroyed by humans. The aim of this study was to develop a technique for transferring the nests of some Polybia (Lepeletier, 1836) species located in human constructions to protected places. Nests were removed in the morning blowing ether into the nest entrance and closing them with cotton. They were separated from the substrate with a spatula. Nests were immediately attached to the new substrate with hot silicone glue and installed in the new place. Transferred nests were monitored for one month to verify the efficiency of the technique. Following the transference, individuals kept foraging and repairing/constructing new cells. Workers performing colony tasks are evidence that the technique was efficient and that the colony was adapted to the new local. Sociobiology An international journal on social insects


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A Technique for Transferring Nests of Polybia (hymenoptera: Vespidae: Epiponini) Wasps in Anthropized Environment positive roles in the environment, wasps are considered dangerous (mainly because they sting and the misinformation about their importance), hence their nests are destroyed by humans (Fowler, 1983;Prezoto et al., 2007Prezoto et al., , 2011Sumner et al., 2018;Brock et al., 2021;Elisei et al., 2021). An alternative to avoid accidents between wasps and humans, or to prevent nest destruction, is to remove and transfer their nests to other localities (Prezoto et al., 2007(Prezoto et al., , 2011. However, few attempts have been made to develop techniques to transfer their nests (Prezoto et al., 2016). There is still a lack of information regarding the basic biological aspects of many species of social wasps, this is likely associated with the fact that information is often difficult to be collected due to the inaccessibility of their nesting sites (Barbosa et al., 2021).
Thus, the goal of this study was to develop an effective technique for transferring nests of some Polybia species found in human constructions to protected places, enabling their use in behavior studies and avoiding their elimination.
The nests were removed in the morning between 06:00 and 09:00 a.m. To perform the nest transference procedure we always wore latex gloves and beekeeper clothes. The first step was to blow ether into the nest entrance and close it with a cotton ball. The cotton can be moistened with ether; this is an alternative when it is not possible to blow the chemical compound (Fig 2). To start the removal (one to two people to perform the procedure), the nests were carefully handled in a way to prevent the external envelope structure to be destroyed. Then, using a spatula, the envelope was separated from them substrate where it was located. At last, the nests were immediately attached to the new substrate (piece of cardboard) with hot silicone glue (can be used hot glue gun or a lighter to heat the glue) (Fig 2). All the nests were in masonry construction, only one of the P. paulista nests was in a metal structure and the P. fastidiosuscula was in a wood substrate. Although not all the nests were attached to the same substrate, all of them were transferred in the same way. Nests were then transferred to the new site (by walking or by car). The nests were transferred attached to the new substrate but without protection around. Because of the ether, the individuals were not aggressive during the course. The cardboard with nests was attached to a place preferably protected from the rain with silver tape. The minimum distance of transference between the original site and the new one was 1000 meters and the maximum was 2500 meters. During this process, there was only a small loss of individuals, the ones that already were over the nest surface when the procedure started. The nests that were transferred were monitored for one month to verify the efficiency of the procedure; furthermore, the P. occidentalis nests were used inother experiments, hence they were followed for three months (Prato, 2018;Prato et al., 2021).
Following the transference procedure, wasps continued to perform their foraging activities, started to repair the damages, and build new cells. Workers performing their usual activities are indicative that they were already used to the new place. Thus, it was confirmed that this technique is efficient because of the minimal invasive manipulation done to the transferred nests.
Polybia nests are built directly in the substrate (only the top part of the nest is in contact with the nesting place), differently from other Epiponini species, in which all the nest is attached to the structure, such as in the genera Metapolybia and Synoeca (Wenzel, 1998;Noll et all., 2021;Kudô, 2021). This facilitates the nest transference process for Polybia nests, as it is possible to separate their nests from the substrate without major damage.
An important factor that must be considered is the type of environment where the nest is located and the new area where the nest will be placed because each species has different preferences for substrate or feeding habits (Cruz et al., 2006;Santos et al., 2007;Almeida et al., 2014;da Silva et al., 2019;Barbosa et al., 2020Barbosa et al., , 2021. These features can directly affect the success of the colony (Dejeanet al., 1998;Santos et al., 2007). Within Polybia, some species are generalist regarding the nesting substrate (Souza et al., 2012;Oliveira et al., 2017;Barbosa et al., 2020). Furthermore, Polybia is the genus of Epiponini that are more frequently found in anthropic environments (Detoni et al., 2018;da Silva et al., 2019). This generalist feature of nesting and adaptation to urban areas increases the chances to be in contact with humans (and accidents). However, they also represent good candidates for biological control studies in different crops, including urban agriculture. At last, it is possible to use them for investigating the influences of urbanization on generalist insects in comparison with preserved places.
Thus, this technique may work as an alternative to help to preserve those wasp species, which are often found in high-risk areas, by transferring them to more protected localities. Hence, the technique can be used as a tool to promote the conservation of them in anthropized environments. Lastly, our method will facilitate future studies using nests that were initially present in sites that are hard to reach or even relocate colonies to perform experiments in different environmental contexts.

Declaration of competing interest
None.