The Weaver Wasp: Spinning Fungus into a Nest

Mario X. Ruiz-González (1) , Bruno Corbara (2, 3) , Céline Leroy (4) , Alain Dejean (4) , Jérôme Orivel (1, 4)

1 EDB - Evolution et Diversité Biologique
2 UBP - Université Blaise Pascal - Clermont-Ferrand 2
3 LMGE - Laboratoire Microorganismes : Génome et Environnement
4 ECOFOG - Ecologie des forêts de Guyane

Wasp nests range from simple to complex structures made of paper or mud. Here, we show that a Neotropical wasp of the genus Nitela builds its nest entirely by weaving endophytic fungal hyphae and spider silk harvested from the leaves growing in the understory of the rain forest in French Guiana.

Keywords: Spermatophyta; Angiospermae; Dicotyledones; Chrysobalanaceae; Invertebrata; Arthropoda; Insecta; Hymenoptera; Aculeata; Formicoidea; Formicidae; America; South America; Fungi; Tropical zone; Biology; Architecture; French Guiana; Nest

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]; Life Sciences [q-bio]; Biodiversity; Populations and Evolution [q-bio.PE]

Mario X. Ruiz-González, Bruno Corbara, Céline Leroy, Alain Dejean, Jérôme Orivel. The Weaver Wasp: Spinning Fungus into a Nest. Biotropica, 2010, 42 (4), pp.402-404. ⟨10.1111/j.1744-7429.2010.00645.x⟩. ⟨hal-01095857⟩