GASTER-FLAGGING DURING COLONY DEFENSE IN NEOTROPICAL SWARM-FOUNDING WASPS (HYMENOPTERA, VESPIDAE, EPIPONINI)

During colony defense, workers of several species of Neotropical swarm -founding wasps hold the distal tip of the abdomen erect in a behavior here termed gaster-flagging. Gaster-flagging can be accompanied by va rious combinations of wing fanning, waving of the gaster, and extrusio n of the sting. Workers flag their gasters while perched either on or near the nest surface, or on the body of an intruder several meters fr om the nest. In many species that engage in this behavior, the gaster is brightly and contrastingly colored compared to the rest of the body . Gaster-flagging may play a role in communication among nest mates du ring defense, involving visual and/or chemical signals. Flagging may a lso serve to enhance visual warning signals of impending defensive sti nging behavior to potential predators.