Diodontus minutus
| Diodontus minutus | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
)_05.jpg)
Diodontus minutus |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Diodontus minutus | ||||||||||||
| ( Fabricius , 1793) |
Diodontus minutus is a Hymenoptera from the family of Crabronidae .
features
The wasp reaches a body length of 5 to 6 millimeters (females) or 3 to 4 millimeters (males). The mandibles and the lobe on the pronotum are colored yellow, which distinguishes the species from the similar females of Diodontus tristis , which are completely black. Some of the males have yellow legs. In the male of Diodontus minutus , the first tarsal link is only slightly curved. The space between the teeth on the female clypeus is wide and flat. It is easy to confuse the species with Diodontus insidiosus , which only occurs on coastal dunes.
Occurrence
The species is distributed in Europe to the south of the Arctic Circle and in Asia, to the east as far as Mongolia. It colonizes various sandy habitats and the smallest of edges along roadsides and the like. It also occurs in human settlement areas and rises to heights of around 600 meters above sea level. The animals fly in one generation from late May to late September. It is unclear whether a partial second generation occurs. They are common in Central Europe.
Way of life
The females lay their nests together in groups on steep walls and small edges. Often they appear together with the nests of Diodontus tristis . You can watch the animals in their active flight activity in front of the nest entrances or while resting on exposed roots nearby. The nest has a main corridor about 10 centimeters straight into the ground, from which up to 15 secondary corridors branch off, at the end of which a cell is created. Each cell is supplied with up to 30 mask lice (Thelaxidae) or tube aphids (Aphididae). It is documented that the prey is not only stunned with the sting, but that its head is occasionally squeezed with the mandibles. The species is parasitized by Myrmosa atrata .
literature
- Rolf Witt: Wasps. Observe, determine. Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1998, ISBN 3-89440-243-1 .
