A comparison of nesting behaviour and prey selection in some Southern African species of Ammophila (Hymenoptera : Sphecidae)

Nesting behaviour and prey selection was compared in eight species of Ammophila. The frequent sympatry of these species was a central point of interest in the study. Nest siting differed markedly in several species. A. ferrugineipes, A. dolichodera, A. dolichocephala and, probably, A. conifera nested mostly in open habitats, this being regarded as the most common situation for the majority of Ammophila. A. beniniensis was unusual in nesting in well vegetated habitats, A. vulcania doing so amongst small clumps of vegetation in otherwise open habitats. A. insignis nested in vertical banks or old animal burrows and A. braunsi utilised abandoned burrows of other wasps situated in non-friable clay soils. This is the first time such nest siting has been reported for Ammophila and each of these two species is consequently unique. Many aspects of nest construction behaviour, in particular methods of soil waste disposal, sealing of nests and their final coverage, differed interspecifically, in some cases intraspecifically, but often apparently in response to the habitat. With regard to nest provisioning strategies, all species hunted after digging their nests, except A. dolichodera which is the first Afrotropical Ammophila reported to hunt before excavating its nest. This brings the total number of the world's species of Ammophila showing this behaviour to three. This species, A. beniniensis, A. braunsi and A. vulcania provided one caterpillar per nest; the others supplied several, A. insignis being the only mass provisioner. A. ferrugineipes showed a form of progressive provisioning and maintained several nests at a time; it is the only Afrotropical species known so far to do so. Only two extra-limital species have been reported showing similar behaviour. The observed variations in provisioning strategies can most easily be explained in relation to the habitat. Investigation of prey selection showed that there was very little interspecific overlap in the species of caterpillars used for provisioning nests. This was shown to be due mainly to differing hunting habitat preferences. The various overall patterns of nesting behaviour, and variations in the different components within these patterns, were considered most likely to have resulted from allopatric speciation in different types of vegetation, the more advanced patterns arising in open habitats. The frequent occurrence of sympatry appears to be a reflection of a shifting distribution of mosaic patterns of vegetation types and the post-speciation spread of species. This influence of habitat on behaviour and prey selection has emphasised the need for caution in drawing phylogenetic conclusions from ethology. Further, these considerations provide an alternative to competition in attempting to explain the observed behaviour patterns and distribution of these wasps