Diversity of solitary wasps (Vespidae, Eumeninae) in decidual seasonal forest in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

Eumeninae is the subfamily with the highest number of species among Vespidae family, with more than 3,750 species and 210 genera identified worldwide. Some ecosystems are subsampled, such as the decidual seasonal forest, also known as dry forest. Thus, this study aims to execute the inventory of the Eumeninae community in decidual seasonal forest in the Parque Estadual da Mata Seca, Minas Gerais. The study took place from February to December 2021, executing active search and using malaise traps. A total of 90 individuals, belonging to 30 species, was collected, which characterize this study as the fourth highest list of Eumeninae for Brazil, even with a smaller sampling effort than other similar studies. In this study, 40% of the collected species are rare, having been collected only once. The most abundant species were Pachodynerus brevithorax (Saussure, 1853), Hypalastoroides brasiliensis (Saussure, 1856), Pachymenes ater (Saussure, 1852) and Montezumia petiolata (Saussure, 1855). This research shows how the Neotropical Eumeninae fauna is still little explored, indicating the need for more research to be conducted with this taxon, especially in environments without exploration such as the decidual seasonal forest.