Effects of male size on searching behaviors in the Sun Dance of Bembix

摘要

Males of solitary wasp species are faced with the task of locating potential mates, a task made more difficult by inconspicuous females and a landscape seemingly devoid of landmarks. Males may employ a variety of strategies to locate females. In this study, we test for variation among males within the sun dance of Bembix. We show that males of Bembix americana spinolae Lepeletier behave differently within the sun dance and that these differences can be predicted by the size of the male. We show that large males spend more time at "rest" and require a greater number of male-male contacts to be displaced from rest than small males. This difference in mate location strategy, however, appears to be density dependent, as large and small males in small aggregations exhibit no difference in the strategies they employ.