Fake cuckoo wasp
| Fake cuckoo wasp | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg)
False cuckoo wasp ( Dolichovespula adulterina ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Dolichovespula adulterina | ||||||||||||
| ( du Buysson , 1905) |
The false cuckoo wasp ( Dolichovespula adulterina ) is a cuckoo wasp from the order of the hymenoptera (Hymenoptera). It lives as a social parasite on the Saxon wasp ( Dolichovespula saxonica ). Their sting hurts little in humans.
features
The wasps reach a body length of 14 to 17 millimeters (females) or 12 to 15 millimeters (males). The spot on the clypeus and the yellow drawing of the abdomen are variable. The males can only be distinguished from the other species of the genus Dolichovespula by a genital examination .
Occurrence
The species occurs from the Pyrenees across northern and central Europe east to Japan. But you can also find them in eastern North America. Like its host species, it colonizes various open habitats and is also found in the vicinity of humans. It is widespread in Central Europe and flies from mid-June to late August. Young animals of the new generation fly from mid-July.
Way of life
The false cuckoo wasp is a social parasite of the Saxon wasp. In North America, however, Dolichovespula arenaria is parasitized. The females fly around in the characteristic tumbling flight in search of host nests. If a female intrudes into a host's nest, she behaves apathetically and allows the attacks to endure protected by her strong chitin armor. Presumably, pheromones are also released . Once the host animals have calmed down, the intruder kills the queen with one sting and removes eggs and larvae. The cells are then covered with many of their own eggs, which are produced relatively quickly. The workers in the host's nest take care of the rearing of the new brood. Since the females of the false cuckoo wasp only have a short lifespan and no further workers are trained, the nests with mostly two combs remain quite small.
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Stephen A. Marshall: Insects. Their Natural History and Diversity. With a Photographic Guide to Insects of eastern North America. Firefly Books, Buffalo NY et al. 2006, ISBN 1-55297-900-8 , p. 718.
literature
- Rolf Witt: Wasps. Observe, determine. Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1998, ISBN 3-89440-243-1 .