Nest Use by Females of the Presocial Wasp Cerceris watlingensis (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae)

To determine origins of nest sharing in the sphecid wasp Cerceris watlingensis Elliott & Salbert, we marked individual females and observed their behavior. Nest sharing arose as a result of two different patterns of nest use: use of the parental burrow for several days by newly emerging females, and burrow abandonment and switching by older females. Predator pressure may have selected for both these patterns of nest use.