Deadwood type and tree diversity structure saproxylic Hymenoptera host-parasitoid communities

This poster investigates the effects of deadwood type and tree diversity on deadwood cavity-nesting Hymenoptera host-parasitoid communities. The study was conducted in a large forest diversity experiment ("BEF-China"). The results show that deadwood position (standing or lying) is more important than forest tree diversity and stand structure in shaping the nesting communities. Lying deadwood supported less diverse and abundant communities that were largely a nested subset of those occupying standing deadwood while retaining approximately twice as much moisture, suggesting that substrate moisture is an important factor limiting bee and wasp communities nesting in deadwood. By contrast, neither ant exclusion nor observed ant occurrence was associated with host or parasitoid responses in our study.