The Vespidae family (order Hymenoptera) is comprised of 4500 species of wasps in 268 genera and 7 subfamilies. These wasps prey upon a wide range of insects, including Lepidopteran caterpillars. Because of their low prey specificity, the use of Vespid wasps in biological control programs is limited. However, in their natural habitat, they play a role in controlling populations of some pest species. This study was conducted in six different communities in the department of La Paz within the municipalities of Coroico and Coripata. Three ecological niches were selected in each community: 1) the forest, 2) the edge of the forest and 3) a crop producing area. In each study unit, three Malaise traps were set up on a 14 day collection cycle from June to December 2007. Over the six month study period, we collected a total of 772 individuals and identified 36 different morphospecies from the six communities. The most abundant genera collected were Protopolybia sp., Mischocyttarus sp., and an unidentified genus (morphospecies #2) which had the greatest abundance of individuals in all of the different ecological niches. The niche factor did not have a significant influence on species diversity in the three ecological niches studied. Generally, this group of wasps is found in all three ecological niches.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BGMYU2/oai:scholarsarchive.byu.edu:etd-6454 |
| Date | 01 January 2009 |
| Creators | Zapata Mayta, Edwin |
| Publisher | BYU ScholarsArchive |
| Source Sets | Brigham Young University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
| Coverage | La Paz (Bolivia) |
| Rights | http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/ |
Page generated in 0.0028 seconds