Determination of the Homing Range of Cerceris fumipennis (Hymenoptera: Crabonidae)

Cerceris fumipennis (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae) is a ground-dwelling wasp species that provisions its nests with wood-boring jewel beetles (Buprestidae), making it a useful tool for biosurveillance of buprestid forest pests, particularly the Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis). The maximum foraging range of C. fumipennis has not yet been determined, but there have been limited studies on how far these wasps may fly when released from measured distances – an indication of their potential homing range. Careless (2008) determined the maximum homing range to be 2 km and hypothesized that the foraging range was limited to this distance. This study was coarsely-grained in that the wasps were released only at 1 km increments up to 3 km. Our study is finer-grained due to the release of wasps at intermediate distances within 3 km from the nesting area. Over 50% of the individuals released from 2.5 km and 3 km returned, indicating that the homing range of C. fumipennis is larger than previously estimated. The implications of this larger homing range and its effects on current predictions of foraging range are discussed.