Local enhancement in the wasp Vespula germanica - Are visual cues all thatmatter?

Local enhancement, a simple process of social transmission, occurs in the w asp Vespula germanica. Past studies have focused on the role played by visu al rather than odour cues in attracting conspecific foragers to a food sour ce. However, odour is known to be important in insect communication in gene ral and it has been suggested to influence naive forager wasp choice. In th is study, we experimentally studied local enhancement in Vespula germanica, discriminating between odour and visual cues. We show that conspecific odo ur attracts Vespula germanica foraging workers and that this attraction is comparable to that of an attractive bait. We thus conclude that odour may b e playing a central role in local enhancement by this social wasp.