The first documented migration of a potter wasp, Ancistrocerus adiabatus (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae)

Abstract

Eumenine wasps are not known to be migratory and have never been proposed as migrants, let alone documented as such. We document a large-scale migration of a common eumenine, Ancistrocerus adiabatus, during which 44 000–68 000 wasps moved through a known migration corridor in southwestern Ontario, Canada, in less than an hour. Evidence for migration of another eumenine, Pachodynerus erynnis, six species of flower flies (Diptera, Syrphidae), and two dragonflies (Odonata) is also provided. We hope that this note encourages naturalists to focus their attention on insects at known migration concentration sites to learn more about this grossly understudied aspect of animal behaviour.