Near-Nest Behavior of a Solitary Mud-Daubing Wasp, Sceliphron caementarium (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae)

Mud dauber wasps (Sceliphron spp.) construct nests " by sequential flights to gather mud and return it to their aerial nests. Individual S. caementarium differ in the mean time spent in four states of construction: approach, daubing, inspection, and departure. Placing a novel object near nests or replacing a white object by a black one resulted in an increase in individuals ' approach times but no change in departure times. Removal of objects or replacing a black object by a white one had no effect. A change in the color of objects near nests elicited increased approach times but did not affect departure. S. caementarium appears to memorize three-dimensional objects in the near-nest environment, and changes in the near-nest environment are learned during the approach flight to the nest. The frequency of significant responses to all manipulations decreased with successive visits by the wasps, suggesting habituation to near-nest changes. KEY WORDS: behavioral sequences; color discrimination; habituation; learning; nest building; proximate orientation