Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana are commonly used entomopathogenic fungi, but their non-target effects over generalist predatory insects, which can contribute to pest control, are not well known. We studied the capacity of the social wasp Polistes myersi to detect the pathogens in either a powdered form or in Galleria mellonella larvae infected with either of the two pathogens offered as prey. The effects of these treatments were compared considering wasp behaviors such as prey preference, frequency, duration and transitions of both hunting and grooming behaviors. Additionally, the effects of each entomopathogenic fungus on the wasp’s mortality were measured. Wasps seem not to detect the pathogens in powdered form but preferred healthy over infected larvae. Seventeen behavioral units for hunting and 34 for grooming were recognized. There were no differences in grooming frequency but there were significant differences on grooming duration, hunting behaviors and the patterns of transitions. Exposure of wasp colonies to either B. bassiana or M. anisopliae had no detectable impact on the mortality of adults, but mortality of larvae increased. For the first time, this study documented behavioral changes that indicated the capacity of social wasps to detect pathogens before physical contact and the display of hygienic strategies once contact occurs. The study also suggested a potential non-target effect of these entomopathogenic fungi on a generalist predator.

绿僵菌和球孢白僵菌是常用的昆虫病原真菌，但它们对一般捕食性昆虫的非靶标效应（可有助于害虫控制）尚不清楚。我们研究了社会黄蜂Polistes myersi检测粉末状或大蜡螟中病原体的能力被作为猎物提供的两种病原体中的任何一种感染的幼虫。考虑到黄蜂行为，例如猎物偏好、频率、持续时间和狩猎和梳理行为的转变，比较了这些处理的效果。此外，还测量了每种昆虫病原真菌对黄蜂死亡率的影响。黄蜂似乎无法检测到粉末形式的病原体，但比受感染的幼虫更喜欢健康的幼虫。17 个用于狩猎的行为单元和 34 个用于梳理的行为单元被识别。梳理频率没有差异，但梳理持续时间、狩猎行为和转换模式存在显着差异。黄蜂菌落暴露于B. bassiana或M. anisopliae对成虫的死亡率没有明显影响，但幼虫的死亡率增加。这项研究首次记录了行为变化，表明社会黄蜂在身体接触之前检测病原体的能力以及一旦接触发生就展示卫生策略。该研究还表明，这些昆虫病原真菌对多面手捕食者具有潜在的非目标作用。