| Priochilus captivum | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Pompilidae |
| Genus: | Priochilus |
| Species: | P. captivum |
| Binomial name | |
| Priochilus captivum | |
Priochilus captivum is a species of neotropical spider wasp in the family Pompilidae. It is native to Central and South America. It was first described by the Danish zoologist Johan Christian Fabricius in 1804.
Priochilus captivum is a solitary wasp and often nests on or around human habitations. Nesting sites chosen include among the folds of clothing, inside shoes, in cardboard boxes, behind books on shelves and in brick cavities. [2] One female started nesting among bedclothes while the researcher was napping. [3] The nest consists of a number of individual cells and is built of pieces of dry twigs and bits of gravel cemented together with mud. The number of cells in the nest ranges from two to seven. In Brazil, the nests are camouflaged with grass seeds, leaf fragments, animal hairs and insect remains, the outer walls are quite rough and the inside walls are smooth. In Trinidad, mud is the main building material and the nests are uncamouflaged. The individual cells are barrel-shaped, about 18 to 21 mm (0.7 to 0.8 in) long and 7 to 12 mm (0.3 to 0.5 in) wide. They are built on concealed horizontal surfaces and lie on their sides, touching each other, but not sharing a common wall. [2] [3]
The female wasp captures and immobilises a spider to provision each cell in the nest. In Brazil, a species of jumping spider (Salticidae) is often used. The spider is captured and stung, then laid on the ground while the female completes the cell. The mud takes about two hours to dry, and then the spider is placed inside, an egg is laid on its abdomen and the cell is sealed. The egg soon hatches and the wasp larva grows fast. By day five it has finished eating the abdomen of its spider host and by day nine it forms a cocoon. Males emerge through the seals of the cells at about day thirty while females emerge around ten days later. Adult wasps feed on nectar and honeydew. [2] [3]
This spider wasp is native to Central America and the northern part of South America. Its range includes the West Indies, [3] Panama, [1] and Brazil. In the latter country it is on the wing in the hot, rainy season, between September and April. In the laboratory, males live for about sixty days and females live for one hundred and twenty days. [2]
Wasps in the family Pompilidae are commonly called spider wasps, spider-hunting wasps, or pompilid wasps. The family is cosmopolitan, with some 5,000 species in six subfamilies. Nearly all species are solitary, and most capture and paralyze prey, though members of the subfamily Ceropalinae are kleptoparasites of other pompilids, or ectoparasitoids of living spiders.
Sceliphron, also known as black mud daubers or black mud-dauber wasps, is a genus of Hymenoptera of the Sphecidae family of wasps. They are solitary mud daubers and build nests made of mud. Nests are frequently constructed in shaded niches, often just inside of windows or vent openings, and it may take a female only a day to construct a cell requiring dozens of trips carrying mud. Females will add new cells one by one to the nest after each cell is provisioned. They provision these nests with spiders, such as crab spiders, orb-weaver spiders and jumping spiders in particular, as food for the developing larvae. Each mud cell contains one egg and is provided with several prey items. Females of some species lay a modest average of 15 eggs over their whole lifespan. Various parasites attack these nests, including several species of cuckoo wasps, primarily by sneaking into the nest while the resident mud dauber is out foraging.
The Stenogastrinae are a subfamily of social wasps included in the family Vespidae. They are sometimes called hover wasps owing to the particular hovering flight of some species. Their morphology and biology present interesting peculiarities.
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. The wasps do not constitute a clade, a complete natural group with a single ancestor, as bees and ants are deeply nested within the wasps, having evolved from wasp ancestors. Wasps that are members of the clade Aculeata can sting their prey.
Ammophila sabulosa, the red-banded sand wasp, is a species of the subfamily Ammophilinae of the solitary hunting wasp family Sphecidae, also called digger wasps. Found across Eurasia, the parasitoid wasp is notable for the mass provisioning behaviour of the females, hunting caterpillars mainly on sunny days, paralysing them with a sting, and burying them in a burrow with a single egg. The species is also remarkable for the extent to which females parasitise their own species, either stealing prey from nests of other females to provision their own nests, or in brood parasitism, removing the other female's egg and laying one of her own instead.
Pompilus cinereus, the leaden spider wasp is the most widespread species of the Pompilus spider wasps, and throughout a large proportion of its wide distribution is the only species of Pompilus. It is the type species of the genus Pompilus and therefore of the family Pompilidae.
Auplopus carbonarius is a spider wasp of the family Pompilidae. Uniquely among the British group it constructs a nest of barrel-shaped cells in which spiders are stored and the larvae develop.
Cryptocheilus is a genus of spider wasps of the subfamily Pepsinae, they are found in the world's warmer regions. They vary in size from medium to large and are often strikingly coloured. The females construct multicellular nests in cavities, once built each cell is stocked with a spider, captured by the female. They are found in open habitats such as heaths, meadows and forest edges.
Cryptocheilus australis, the golden spider wasp, is an Australian pepsid spider wasp that was accidentally introduced to New Zealand around 1960.
Sphictostethus nitidus, the golden hunter wasp or red spider wasp, is a species of pepsid spider wasp endemic to New Zealand.
Agenioideus cinctellus is a spider wasp of the subfamily Pompilinae with a Palearctic distribution.
Polistes carnifex, commonly known as the executioner wasp, is a neotropical vespid wasp in the cosmopolitan genus Polistes.
Liostenogaster vechti is a type of eusocial hover wasp within the family Vespidae. They are typically brown and yellow in color and are considered a passive aggressive species. Their stings are less painful to humans than other social wasps, and they engage in associative nest foundation. They are mostly found on the Malaysian peninsula and are known for living in large clusters of small ring-shaped nests.
Priochilus is a genus of neotropical spider wasp in the family Pompilidae.
Anoplius viaticus, commonly known as the black-banded spider wasp, is a species of spider wasp. These wasps are known as spider wasps because the females capture spiders to provide their offspring with food. The paralysed spider is cached in a burrow, the wasp lays an egg on it, and when this hatches, the developing wasp larva consumes the spider. This species is found in sandy heathland across most of Europe.
Tachypompilus analis, the red-tailed spider wasp is a species of spider wasp found in most of tropical and subtropical Asia, north to Japan. These spider wasps often hunt huntsman spiders.
Tachypompilus ferrugineus, the rusty spider wasp, red-tailed spider hunter, or sometimes red-tailed spider wasp is a species of spider wasp from the Americas. It preys mainly on wandering spiders, especially wolf spiders.
Pison spinolae, commonly known as mason wasp, is a solitary wasp of the family Crabronidae, found throughout New Zealand.
Ageniellini, known as the mud-nesting spider wasps, is a tribe of spider wasps in the subfamily Pepsinae.
Centris analis is a solitary, oil-collecting bee with a geographical range extending from Brazil to Mexico. C. analis is a small, fast-flying bee with an average head width of 3.21mm and 3.54mm for males and females, respectively. While most species of the genus Centris create burrows for nesting, C. analis and other species of the subgenus Heterocentris build nests in pre-existing cavities rather than in the ground. C. analis is a pollinator of many plant species, especially of those in the family Malpighiaceae, which has encouraged its application in acerola orchards.