Summary
Polistes paper wasp species vary in their nest site selection, with some nesting in relatively exposed areas and others in protected cavities. Locating the nest sites of cavity dwelling species in natural habitat can prove difficult, and most behavioral studies on these species are therefore conducted using human-built structures. Since Hungerford and Williams (1912) and Rau (1929) noted the location of several P. fuscatus (Fabricius) nests in rodent burrows, there have been no published accounts of ground nesting Polistes species. I report the occurrence of a large, dense cluster of P. aurifer (Saussure) nests located within cracks in the dried soil of the Santa Monica Mountains of southern California, USA.
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Received 8 April 2003; revised 10 October 2003; accepted 31 October 2003.
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Liebert, A.E. Ground nesting in the paper wasp Polistes aurifer (Hymenoptera, Vespidae). Insect. Soc. 51, 99–100 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-003-0714-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-003-0714-0