Lead gray wasp
| Lead gray wasp | ||||||||||||
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Lead gray wasp ( Pompilus cinereus ) with a stunned wolf spider . |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Pompilus cinereus | ||||||||||||
| ( Fabricius , 1775) |
The lead-gray wasp ( Pompilus cinereus ) is a hymenoptera from the family of the wasp (Pompilidae). It is the only species of its genus in Europe.
features
The animals reach a body length of 5 to 12.5 millimeters (females) or 3.5 to 6 millimeters (males). Their bodies are dark in color and have a characteristic silver-gray dusting. The mandibles of the species are sickle-shaped.
Occurrence
The species occurs in the Palearctic , Africa and Southeast Asia. It inhabits sandy habitats without vegetation and also coastal dunes, where it is the most common type of wasps. The animals fly in several generations from early June to early October. The species is widespread in Central Europe.
Way of life
Females of the lead gray wasp have an unusual behavior for wasps. They lay their 5 to 15 centimeters deep nests before the hunt and only catch their prey afterwards. These are mostly wolf spiders that are captured on the sandy surfaces while running or jumping. Sometimes the spider's legs are bitten off and, unlike most other wasps, it is brought forward to the nest. While the nest is reopened, the spider is placed in a shallow hollow and lightly covered with sand. After the spider has been entered and an egg has been laid on it, the hole is filled with pokes with the abdomen and compacted. The females dig sleeping caves for the night, from which they are occasionally driven out by the males who do not dig. The species is parasitized by the cuckoo wasp Ceropales maculata .
supporting documents
literature
- Rolf Witt: Wasps. Observe, determine. Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1998, ISBN 3-89440-243-1 .
Web links
- Pompilus cinereus at Fauna Europaea. Retrieved February 24, 2011
- Photo of the wasp