Search images are perceptual biases acquired through experience that improve an individual’s ability to detect the object of their search (e.g., a predator seeking prey). In hymenopterans, examples include floral search images in bees and acquired sensory biases towards specific prey in wasp predators. Mud dauber wasps exhibit individual specialization and consistency in prey preferences through time, often based on visual and chemical cues, that may vary at intraspecific levels. However, the search image concept in wasps has not been evaluated from a visual ecology perspective. Using psychophysical visual modelling from multispectral digital photography, we measured the colour and body pattern of the spiders captured and stored in nests by the wasp Trypoxylon mexicanum. Those visual traits were compared at the community and nest cell levels, according to the nest provisioning sequence, and its relationship with spider diversity. Our results show that the wasps are choosing a small group of orb weavers (Araneidae) with similar coloration and body patterns. These findings highlight the specific visual features that may be the focal trait during search image formation in these wasps. The colour and pattern variables of spider prey were consistent over time, suggesting that individual search images may strengthen with experience.

搜索图像是通过经验获得的感知偏差，可提高个人检测其搜索对象（例如，捕食者寻找猎物）的能力。在膜翅目昆虫中，例子包括蜜蜂中的花卉搜索图像和黄蜂捕食者对特定猎物的感官偏见。泥涂黄蜂随着时间的推移表现出个体的专业化和猎物偏好的一致性，通常基于视觉和化学线索，这些线索可能在种内水平上有所不同。然而，黄蜂中的搜索图像概念尚未从视觉生态学角度进行评估。使用来自多光谱数码摄影的心理物理视觉建模，我们测量了由黄蜂Trypoxylon mexicanum捕获并储存在巢中的蜘蛛的颜色和体型. 根据巢穴供应顺序及其与蜘蛛多样性的关系，在群落和巢穴水平上比较了这些视觉特征。我们的研究结果表明，黄蜂正在选择一小群具有相似颜色和体型的圆形织布工（蜘蛛科）。这些发现突出了这些黄蜂在搜索图像形成过程中可能成为焦点特征的特定视觉特征。随着时间的推移，蜘蛛猎物的颜色和图案变量是一致的，这表明个体搜索图像可能会随着经验的增加而增强。