Winter Prey Collection at a Perennial Colony of Paravespula Vulgaris (L.) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

Diet is a fundamental aspect of an organism’s biology. In eusocial vespid wasps the food intake of a mature colony, including nutrition of immatures, is determined by the foraging behavior of workers. Yellowjackets of the genus Paravespula Bltithgen meet the protein requirements of the colony by capturing live arthropods and collecting flesh from dead animals. By enabling these species to utilize a broader resource base, scavenging likely contributed to the evolution in this genus of a colony cycle characterized by higher worker populations and greater longevity than in Vespula Thompson, a closely related genus in which only live prey is taken (MacDonald et al., 1976). Prey collection by freely foraging Paravespula colonies has been described in detail by Kleinhout (1958), Kemper and Dohring (1962), Broekhuizen and Hordijk (1968), and Archer (1977). Numerous shorter lists of prey are available, (cf. Spradbery (1973) for a literature review). Broekhuizen and Hordijk (1968) investigated the response of P. vulgaris (L.) to artificial manipulations of prey densities in trees, while MacDonald et al. (1974) offered various prey items in screen-enclosed foraging areas. Heinrich (1984) gave a good account of general foraging behavior of individual workers and Free (1970) investigated handling of honeybee prey by workers. Paravespula species undergo an annual monogynous cycle over most of their range, but in mild-weathered areas, perennial polygynous colonies sometimes develop (Spradbery, 1973). These colonies, characterized by enormous populations of workers, occur especially