New Zealand spider wasp females (Hymenoptera Pompilidae) feed mostly from the mouth parts of spiders. Are they adversely affected by competition with introduced vespids over honeydew in forests?

Abstract

Honeydew is a sugary exudate sometimes found on the trunks of trees and on leaves. It is derived from plant sap that has passed through the guts of aphids and other Hemiptera Sternorrhyncha. Honeydew is an important food source for short-tongued wasps. Professor A. Shimizu informed me that in Japan, honeydew constitutes a very important food for Pompilidae. Wasbauer and Kimsley (1985) noted honeydew is important food for some Pompilinae in USA. In New Zealand, adult pompilids sometimes eat honeydew, although the females most often feed from the mouth parts of spider prey after they have first been stung to paralysis, before they have been transported to their nests as food for their larvae.