Foraging Patterns of Yellowjackets, Vespula pensylvanica, in an Artificial Flower Patch

Abstract

Vespula pensylvanica, yellowjackets, were attracted to artificial flower <br /><br />patches, made repeated foraging trips, and returned on successive days. We ob- <br /><br />served the foraging patterns of Vespula pensylvanica in blue-yellow color-dimor- <br /><br />phic and clove-peppermint odor-dimorphic artificial flower patches, with variable <br /><br />sucrose molarities and volumes, as previously used to study honey bees. Yel- <br /><br />lowjackets foraged randomly in color-dimorphic patches regardless of reward <br /><br />volume or odor. When one morph provided 1.5 M sucrose, the other 2.5 M <br /><br />sucrose, vespulid wasps foraged randomly. When one morph provided 1.5 M <br /><br />sucrose, and the other flower morph 0.75 M sucrose, yellowjackets visited ran- <br /><br />domly but only drank the richer solution. In odor-dimorphic monochromic patches <br /><br />yellowjackets foraged randomly.