OBSERVATIONS ON NESTING BEHAVIOR AND TURRET CONSTRUCTION BY ODYNERUS DILECTUS (HYMENOPTERA: EUMENIDAE)

Abstract

A search is being conducted to determine the indigenous parasites and predators of the alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica (Gyll.), in Alberta (Schaber 1981). A clearer understanding of the biology of the predator Odynerus dilectus Saussure will augment control of the alfalfa weevil in an integrated pest management program.Odynerus dilectus has been recorded in the United States (Bohart et al. 1982) and in Alberta, Canada (Strickland 1947). In California, Linsley and Michener (1942) reported that females stocked their nests with small caterpillars, but Bohart et al. (1982) reported that in Utah females of O. dilectus provisioned their nests with larvae of the alfalfa weevil. This paper summarizes data about the nesting and prey-provisioning behavior of O. dilectus in southern Alberta.