| Chrysis angustula | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chrysis angustula | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Chrysididae |
| Genus: | Chrysis |
| Species: | C. angustula |
| Binomial name | |
| Chrysis angustula Schenck, 1856 | |
Chrysis angustula is a species of cuckoo wasps, insects in the family Chrysididae.
Subspecies include: [1]
This rather common Trans-Palearctic species is widespread in most of Europe. southwestern Asia, Siberia and China. [2]
These wasps mainly occurs on wooded pastures, sparse forests, forest margins, clearings, gardens and parks, preferably with sun-exposed dead trees and stumps. They can be easily found also on walls of wooden buildings, old wood's doors, poles, log piles and dead tree trunks. [3] [4]
Chrysis angustula can reach a body length of about 6–9 mm (0.24–0.35 in). [4] These relatively small cuckoo wasps are part of the difficult-to-determine Chrysis ignita complex, with more than ten similar species. The head and the anterior part of the body are metallic shiny green blue, often with extensive gold-colored drawings in the middle body. The abdomen is rather elongated and shows a characteristic metallic golden color, with reddish or green sheen. Moreover, the posterior dorsal plate is provided with rather small and sparse points, gliding towards the back edge of the plate. [3] [4] [5] The apical teeth of the abdomen are short, while the central interval is rather wide. [4]
This species is very closely related to Chrysis leptomandibularis , that has a very strongly flattened jaws without punctuation or other structure, while the jaws of Chrysis angustula are noticeably thickened when viewed from the side. [3]
Adults can be found from May to September. They occasionally visit flowers of Apiaceae and Asteraceae. Similarly to other cuckoo wasps, they are brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nest or cavities of their host species, feeding on their larvae and on the food supply allocated to them. The hosts may be many different species of solitary wasps, but it is mainly the widespread Symmorphus bifasciatus . [3]
Other recorded hosts are Ancistrocerus trifasciatus , Symmorphus allobrogus , Symmorphus connexus and Symmorphus debilitatus , [4] Odynerus sinuatus , Odynerus bifasciatus , Ancistrocerus sp., Trypoxylon attenuatum , Trypoxylon figulus , Crabro sp., Eriades florisomnis , and Prosopis gibba . [6]
Commonly known as cuckoo wasps or emerald wasps, the hymenopteran family Chrysididae is a very large cosmopolitan group of parasitoid or kleptoparasitic wasps, often highly sculptured, with brilliant metallic colors created by structural coloration. They are most diverse in desert regions of the world, as they are typically associated with solitary bee and wasp species, which are also most diverse in such areas. Their brood parasitic lifestyle has led to the evolution of fascinating adaptations, including chemical mimicry of host odors by some species.
Chrysis inaequalis is a species of cuckoo wasps. The species occurs in Central and Southern Europe and in the Near East. The head and the thorax are shiny metallic blue-green, while the abdomen is red. Adults grow up to 5–10 millimetres (0.20–0.39 in) long and can be encountered from late June to mid September, especially flying on sun-exposed walls, on rocks and on dead wood.
Hedychrum rutilans is a species of cuckoo wasps. The species occurs primarily in Austria, Italy, Bulgaria, Greece, France, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and in North Africa. The head and thorax are metallic green with red spots, while the abdomen is red. The color is more green and partially golden in the male and more extensively golden-red in the female. The body is somewhat hairy.
Chrysis ignita is a species of cuckoo wasp. It is one of a group of species which are difficult to separate and which may be referred to as ruby-tailed wasps. Cuckoo wasps are kleptoparasites – they lay their eggs in the nests of other species and their young consume the eggs or larva of the host for sustenance. These wasps have a number of adaptations which have evolved to equip them for their life cycle. Chrysis ignita parasitize mason bees in particular. Ruby-tailed wasps have metallic, armored bodies, and can roll up into balls to protect themselves from harm when infiltrating the nests of host bees and wasps. Unlike most other aculeates, cuckoo wasps cannot sting. Chrysis ignita is found across the European continent.
Chrysidea pumila is a species of cuckoo wasps belonging to the subfamily Chrysidinae. Some authors consider this species as a synonym of Trichrysis pumilionis Linsenmaier, 1987.
Chrysura refulgens is a species of cuckoo wasps.
Pseudomalus auratus is a species of cuckoo wasp.
Chrysis comparata is a species of cuckoo wasps.
Stilbum cyanurum, the large cuckoo wasp, is a species of cuckoo wasps.
Chrysis viridula is a Western Palearctic species of cuckoo wasp, first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1761. Chrysis viridula is included in the genus Chrysis, and the family Chrysididae. It is a parasitoid of a number of species of eumenid wasp, mainly those in the genus Odynerus.
Symmorphus bifasciatus, the willow mason-wasp, is a species of potter wasp, from the subfamily Eumeninae of the social wasp family Vespidae which is widely distributed in the Palearctic region.
Odynerus spinipes, the spiny mason wasp, is a species of potter wasp from western Europe. It is the type species of the genus Odynerus, being first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
Ancistrocerus scoticus is a Palearctic species of potter wasp.
Chrysura simplex is a species of cuckoo wasps, insects in the family Chrysididae.
Chrysis ruddii, the ruby-tailed wasp, is a species of cuckoo wasps, an insects in the family Chrysididae.
Trichrysis cyanea is a species of cuckoo wasps, insects in the family Chrysididae.
Omalus aeneus is a species of cuckoo wasps belonging to the family Chrysididae.
Omalus biaccinctus is a species of cuckoo wasps belonging to the family Chrysididae.
Chrysis fulgida, the ruby-tailed wasp, is a species of cuckoo wasp in the family Chrysididae.
