Emergence and dispersal relative to natal nest in the digger wasp Stizus continuus (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae).

The position of the emerging point has rarely been investigated as a factor possibly affecting the future nest settlement behaviour in Hymenoptera, in particular within nest aggregations. We studied the emergence and dispersion patterns of the digger wasp Stizus continuus. Individuals emerged daily in clumped patterns, possibly revealing a certain synchrony of emergence from the same nests, and protandry appeared both at seasonal and daily level. Differences between the number of females that nested relatively close or far from their emergence holes (EH) were either significant or not, depending on the year, and observed dispersal distances from the natal nests did not differ from those obt…