| Nysson spinosus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| female | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Crabronidae |
| Genus: | Nysson |
| Species: | N. spinosus |
| Binomial name | |
| Nysson spinosus (J. Forster, 1771) | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Nysson spinosus, the large-spurred digger wasp, is a species of cleptoparasitic wasp of the family Crabronidae which is found in the Palearctic.
Nysson spinosus has a black body and the anterior margin of the pronotum is yellow contrasting with the black scutellum. There are three yellow stripes on the abdomen with the anterior one being split or narrowed towards the centre and the others clearly unbroken. The males are blacker and have thinner yellow bands on the abdomen than the females and have completely black legs while females have some yellow on the legs. [2] The antennae are black. The front wing has 3 cubic cells with the middle cell showing a stylus, a diagnostic feature of the genus Nysson . The female is 8–12 mm in length and the male measures 7–10 mm which is larger than most of the other European species of Nysson. [3]
Nysson spinosus occurs widely in the Palearctic from Great Britain and Scandinavia east to the Pacific coast of Russia and Japan. [1] [4]
Nysson spinosus mirrors its hosts' habitat, especially that of Argogorytes mystaceus and to a lesser extent of Argogorytes fargei, in that it prefers sunny places, especially the edges of deciduous woodland. The hosts are species of woodland glades with rank vegetation. In Britain it flies between May and July. The eggs are laid in the burrows of A. mystaceus and A. fargei which the female detects by scent. The egg hatches before the host's egg and the larvae consumes the host's egg first and then the stored prey. [1] In Europe this species is also known to occasionally use wasps of the genus Gorytes as hosts, [3] although this has not been recorded in Great Britain. [5] The adults have been recorded nectaring on Apiaceae, Lotus corniculatus , Euphorbia amygdaloides , Knautia arvensis , Succisa pratensis and Jasione montana . It is thought that N. spinosus may be a host of hyperparasitic species of sarcophagid flies of the subfamily Miltogramminae [1] and possibly some species of Ichneumon . [6] In Europe it is also known to occasionally use wasps of the genus Gorytes as hosts [3]
Sphecius speciosus, often simply referred to as the cicada killer or the cicada hawk, is a large digger wasp species. Cicada killers are large, solitary wasps in the family Crabronidae. The name may be applied to any species of crabronid which preys on cicadas, though in North America it is typically applied to a single species, S. speciosus. However, since there are multiple species of related wasps, it is more appropriate to call it the eastern cicada killer. This species occurs in the eastern and midwest U.S. and southwards into Mexico and Central America. They are so named because they hunt cicadas and provision their nests with them. In North America they are sometimes called sand hornets, although they are not hornets, which belong to the family Vespidae. Cicada killers exert a measure of natural control on cicada populations and thus may directly benefit the deciduous trees upon which their cicada feed.
The Conopidae, usually known as the thick-headed flies, are a family of flies within the Brachycera suborder of Diptera, and the sole member of the superfamily Conopoidea. Flies of the family Conopidae are distributed worldwide in all the biogeographic realms except for the poles and many of the Pacific islands. About 800 species in 47 genera are described worldwide, about 70 of which are found in North America. The majority of conopids are black and yellow, or black and white, and often strikingly resemble wasps, bees, or flies of the family Syrphidae, themselves notable bee mimics. A conopid is most frequently found at flowers, feeding on nectar with its proboscis, which is often long.
Ophrys insectifera, the fly orchid, is a species of orchid and the type species of the genus Ophrys. It is remarkable as an example of sexually-deceptive pollination and floral mimicry as well as of a highly-selective and highly evolved plant-pollinator relationship.
Philanthus triangulum, commonly known as the European beewolf, bee-killer wasp or the bee-eating philanthus, is a solitary wasp that lives in the Western Palearctic and Afrotropics. Although the adults of the species are herbivores, the species derives its name from the behaviour of the inseminated females, who hunt Western honey bees. The female places several of its paralysed prey together with an egg in a small underground chamber, to serve as food for the wasp larvae. All members of the genus Philanthus hunt various species of bees, but P. triangulum is apparently the only one that specialises in Western honey bees.
Bembix rostrata is a protected species of sand wasp native to Central Europe. The genus Bembix - of which B. rostrata is among the most distinctive species - has over 340 species worldwide and is found mostly in warm regions with open, sandy soils; Australia and Africa have a particularly rich variety of species.
Philanthus gibbosus, which is commonly referred to as a beewolf due to its predation practices, is a species of bee-hunting wasp and is the most common and widespread member of the genus in North America. P. gibbosus is of the order Hymenoptera and the genus Philanthus. It is native to the Midwestern United States and the western Appalachians. P. gibbosus are often observed to visit flowers and other plants in search of insect prey to feed their young. The prey that P. gibbosus catches is then coated in a layer of pollen and fed to the young wasps.
Volucella bombylans is a large species of hoverfly belonging to the family Syrphidae.
Bombylius major is a parasitic bee mimic fly. B. major is the most common type of fly within the Bombylius genus. The fly derives its name from its close resemblance to bumblebees and are often mistaken for them.
Miltochrista miniata, the rosy footman, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Johann Reinhold Forster in 1771. It is found in the temperate parts of the Palearctic realm – Europe, Asia Minor, Caucasus, northern Kazakhstan, southern Siberia, Amur, Primorye, Sakhalin, southern Kuriles, Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Sichuan, Korea and Japan, but may be replaced by Miltochrista rosaria in the eastern Palearctic.
Osmia bicolor, the two-coloured mason-bee, is a Palearctic species of bee in the genus Osmia. It is outstanding amongst other megachilid bees in that it nests in empty snail shells.
Mutilla europaea, the large velvet ant, is a species of parasitoid wasps belonging to the family Mutillidae. It is a parasitoid on various species of bumblebees and is found in Europe, Asia and North Africa.
Nysson is a Holarctic genus of kleptoparasitic wasps in the family Crabronidae. Over 100 species are known.
Argogorytes mystaceus is a species of solitary wasp in the family Crabronidae.
Cerceris rybyensis, the ornate tailed digger wasp, is a Palearctic species of solitary wasp from the family Crabronidae which specialised in hunting small to medium-sized mining bees. It is the type species of the genus Cerceris and was named as Sphex rybyensis by Carl Linnaeus in 1771.
Nomada marshamella, Marsham's nomad bee, is a species of Palearctic cuckoo bee which appears to be a wasp mimic and which is cleptoparasite on the mining bees of the genus Andrena, especially A. scotica and A. trimmerana.
Eucera longicornis is a species of bee in the family Apidae, subfamily Apinae, and tribe Eucerini, the long-horned bees.
Halictus confusus, the southern bronze furrow bee or confused sweat bee, is a species of sweat bee in the family Halictidae. It is a primitively eusocial bee species found in open habitats in Eurasia and North America.
Heriaeus hirtus is a species of crab spiders belonging to the family Thomisidae.
Trichrysis cyanea is a species of cuckoo wasps, insects in the family Chrysididae.
The tormentil mining bee is a species of mining bee from the family Andrenidae which has a Palearctic distribution.