| Tiphia femorata | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Tiphiidae |
| Genus: | Tiphia |
| Species: | T. femorata |
| Binomial name | |
| Tiphia femorata Fabricius, 1775 | |
| Synonyms | |
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Tiphia femorata, often known as a beetle-killing wasp or common tiphiid wasp, is a species of wasp belonging to the family Tiphiidae, subfamily Tiphiinae.
Subspecies include: [1]
This species is present in most of Europe, the eastern Palearctic realm, and North Africa. [2] It mainly inhabits warmer, dry and semi-arid grasslands and meadows. [3]
The adult males grow up to 5–12 mm (0.20–0.47 in) long, while females reach 5–15 mm (0.20–0.59 in). [3] The body is completely black, light haired, and the tibiae and femora of the middle and rear pairs of legs are reddish brown. [3] Rather similar species are Tiphia minuta and Tiphia unicolor .
It is a univoltine species. These wasps can be encountered from June through September [3] feeding on nectar and pollen of flowers (especially on Apiaceae species). [3]
Like most members of Tiphiidae, T. femorata parasitizes by stinging the larvae of various species of Scarabaeidae, though especially hunts beetles of Amphimallon solstitiale . The females can smell larvae of beetles in the soil, then they dig up and drop an egg in their victims. The larvae of T. femorata feed externally on the grubs.
Sawflies are the insects of the suborder Symphyta within the order Hymenoptera alongside ants, bees and wasps. The common name comes from the saw-like appearance of the ovipositor, which the females use to cut into the plants where they lay their eggs. The name is associated especially with the Tenthredinoidea, by far the largest superfamily in the suborder, with about 7,000 known species; in the entire suborder, there are 8,000 described species in more than 800 genera. Symphyta is paraphyletic, consisting of several basal groups within the order Hymenoptera, each one rooted inside the previous group, ending with the Apocrita which are not sawflies.
A tarantula hawk is a spider wasp (Pompilidae) that preys on tarantulas. Tarantula hawks belong to any of the many species in the genera Pepsis and Hemipepsis. They are one of the largest parasitoid wasps, using their sting to paralyze their prey before dragging it to a brood nest as living food; a single egg is laid on the prey, hatching to a larva which eats the still-living prey.
Trogidae, sometimes called hide beetles, is a family of beetles with a distinctive warty or bumpy appearance. Found worldwide, the family includes about 300 species contained in four or five genera.
Dermestidae are a family of Coleoptera that are commonly referred to as skin beetles. Other common names include larder beetle, hide or leather beetles, carpet beetles, and khapra beetles. There are approximately 500 to 700 species worldwide. They can range in size from 1 to 12 mm. Key characteristics for adults are round oval shaped bodies covered in scales or setae. The usually clubbed antennae fit into deep grooves. The hind femora also fit into recesses of the coxa. Larvae are scarabaeiform and also have setae.
The Phoridae are a family of small, hump-backed flies resembling fruit flies. Phorid flies can often be identified by their escape habit of running rapidly across a surface rather than taking to the wing. This behaviour is a source of one of their alternate names, scuttle fly. Another vernacular name, coffin fly, refers to Conicera tibialis. About 4,000 species are known in 230 genera. The most well-known species is cosmopolitan Megaselia scalaris. At 0.4 mm in length, the world's smallest fly is the phorid Euryplatea nanaknihali.
The blue ant, also known as the blue-ant or bluebottle is, despite its name and its appearance, not an ant, but rather a species of large solitary parasitic wasp sometimes known as a flower wasp. It is native to south and southeast Australia, including the states of Tasmania, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. It is the sole member of the subfamily Diamminae and the genus Diamma, and is both morphologically and behaviorally unusual among members of the family Tiphiidae.
The Tiphiidae are a family of large solitary wasps whose larvae are parasitoids of various beetle larvae, especially those in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea. Until recently, this family contained several additional subfamilies, but multiple studies have independently confirmed that these comprise a separate lineage, and are now classified in the family Thynnidae.
Phyllophaga is a very large genus of New World scarab beetles in the subfamily Melolonthinae. Common names for this genus and many other related genera in the subfamily Melolonthinae are May beetles, June bugs, and June beetles. They range in size from 12 to 35 mm and are blackish or reddish-brown in colour, without prominent markings, and often rather hairy ventrally. These beetles are nocturnal, coming to lights in great numbers.
Cleridae are a family of beetles of the superfamily Cleroidea. They are commonly known as checkered beetles. The family Cleridae has a worldwide distribution, and a variety of habitats and feeding preferences.
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 their common ancestor is shared by bees and ants. Many wasps, those in the clade Aculeata, can sting their insect prey.
Megacyllene robiniae, commonly known as the locust borer, is a species of longhorn beetle endemic to eastern North America. It is a serious pest of Robinia pseudoacacia, the black locust tree, with which it is sympatric.
Bothrideridae is a family of beetles in the suborder Polyphaga. They are known commonly as the cocoon-forming beetles or dry bark beetles. They occur worldwide with most native to the Old World tropics.
Rhyssa persuasoria, the giant ichneumon, is a species belonging to the family Ichneumonidae subfamily Rhyssinae.
Tiphia is a genus of wasps belonging to the family Tiphiidae subfamily Tiphiinae. They feed on soil inhabiting scarab beetle larvae.
Acanthoscelides obtectus, the bean weevil, is a species of beetle. The species was described in 1831 by Thomas Say.
Thynnidae are a family of large solitary wasps whose larvae are almost universally parasitoids of various beetle larvae, especially those in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea. Until recently, the constituents of this family were classified in the family Tiphiidae, but multiple studies have independently confirmed that thynnids are a separate lineage.
Brachycistidinae is a subfamily of the flower wasp family Tiphiidae which contains 10 genera and 85 species, and which is confined to the Nearctic Zoogegraphic region.
Trichobaris trinotata, commonly known as the "potato stalk borer", is a species of weevil in the family Curculionidae. It is found in North America where it is a pest of potato plants, the larvae tunnelling inside their stems.
Myzinum is a genus of wasps in the family Thynnidae. There are 63 species presently recognized in Myzinum.
The lemon tree borer, also known as the whistling beetle or the singing beetle, is a longhorn beetle endemic to New Zealand. Its larvae are generalist feeders, boring into the wood of a wide variety of trees, native and introduced. When citrus orchards were first established in New Zealand, this beetle started inflicting serious damage, and so gained the name "lemon tree borer". Four species within the genus Oemona have been identified, suggesting that more species could be found. When disturbed by predators or humans, the adult beetle stridulates creating a "rasp" or "squeak" sound by rubbing its thorax and head together against an area of thin ridges. Māori would eat a liquid called "pia manuka", which was produced by manuka trees when its wood was damaged by the larva. When Captain Cook first arrived in NZ, his naturalists, Banks and Solander, collected a lemon tree borer in their first collection between 1769-1771. This oldest collected specimen can be found in the British Museum. A few years after the first collection, the species would be first described by the Danish naturalist Fabricius in 1775.
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