Yellow-headed dagger wasp

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Yellow-headed dagger wasp
Yellow-headed dagger wasp (Megascolia maculata)

Yellow-headed dagger wasp ( Megascolia maculata )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Hymenoptera (Hymenoptera)
Superfamily : Vespoidea
Family : Dagger wasps (Scoliidae)
Genre : Megascolia
Type : Yellow-headed dagger wasp
Scientific name
Megascolia maculata
( Drury , 1773)

The yellow-fronted dagger wasp , also called red-fronted dagger wasp , ( Megascolia maculata ) is a hymenoptera from the family of dagger wasps (Scoliidae). The genus Megascolia is represented in Europe with only two species , all of which belong to the same subgenus Regiscolia . The species maculata is represented in Europe by three subspecies.

Sphex maculata.jpg Scolia flavifrons male up.jpg
Fig. 1: Image for the first
description by Drury 		Fig. 2: Male of
M. maculata maculata
Sclolia flavifrons female front.JPG Scolia flavifrons female up.jpg
Fig. 3: Head with upper jaw
in the female 		Fig. 4: Females of
M. maculata maculata

Notes on the name

In his opinion, the Danish entomologist Fabricius described a female of the species for the first time in 1775 and gave her the name Scolia flavifrons ( Latin flavi-frons = yellow forehead). Twelve years later, Fabricius described a very similar species, including a female who also had a yellow forehead, but in contrast to Scolia flavifrons, the end of the abdomen was not black, but rather rust-red haired. He put the species therefore also in the genus Scolia and called it Scolia haemorrhoidalis (haemorrhoidālis from ancient Greek αίμα hāīma, blood, u. Ροή, rhoē, river, with reference to the color).

In 1927, because of the small differences between Scolia flavifrons and Scolia haemorrhoidalis , as pointed out by Vander Linden in 1826, both were classified as subspecies of the same species. The first described Scolia flavifrons became the subspecies flavifrons flavifrons , and the later described Scolia haemorrhoidalis became the subspecies flavifrons haemorrhoidalis . These spellings are sometimes incorrectly used today.

After the definition of the genus Scolia (ancient Greek σκολιός skolios bent, curved) according to the perspective of the entomologists at that time based on the construction of the mouthparts (Latin os lingua brevi, inflexa, trifida = hyoid bone short, curved, three-pronged, ...), it took shape soon the focus of the experts on the veining of the wings. It was found that the veining within the genus Scolia was not uniform and therefore there were various splits of the genus, some of which were rejected again. Because of its three cubital cells, the yellow-headed golden wasp was placed in the subgenus Triscolia (Latin tri = three, the wing veins form three cubital cells) in 1863 . Triscolia was founded in 1928 in Triscolia s. st. and Megascolia (old Gr. μεγα mega, large, large Scolia) divided. Megascolia was already divided into two sections in 1928, the species of the old world and thus also the yellow-headed dagger wasp were placed in the sub-genus Regiscolia (Latin royal Scolia) in 1964 . The species described here would accordingly be called Megascolia (Regiscolia) flavifrons .

When working through the sources, it was noticed that the female of the species had already been described by the Englishman Drury in 1773 under the name Sphex maculata (old Gr. Σφήξ, sphex = wasp, Latin. Maculata = spotted) (Fig. 1). According to the nomenclature rules, the older species name maculata is combined with the current allocation to a genus, the animal is therefore called in detail Megascolia (Regiscolia) maculata (Drury 1773). Since flavifrons and haemorrhoidalis are subgenus and Drury described the subspecies haemorrhoidalis , in 1928 Scolia flavifrons haemorrhoidalis becomes Megascolia maculata maculata , Scolia flavifrons flavifrons, however, Megascolia maculata flavifrons . The subspecies Megascolia maculata bischofi was also described in 1927.

Argaman suggests a very different systematic classification.

features

The wasps have a body length of 33 to 40 millimeters (females) or 25 to 30 millimeters (males). The more robustly built females (Fig. 4) have a black body with yellow markings. The top of the head is yellow or orange in color, and the area of ​​the three ocelles is often blackened. On the second and third tergite there are two large spots each, which in some individuals have fused to form a band. The parting is smooth and shiny; in the middle there is a narrow longitudinal furrow. The fore wings have three cubital cells and one discoid cell. The laying pipe is transformed into a poison sting. As with all Aculeata, the egg emerges at the base of the spine.

The slimmer males (Fig. 2) are black and have two yellow spots on each of the second and third tergites, which are often fused to form bands. The parting is structured with dotted lines. The forewings have three cubital cells and one discoid cell, as in the females.

The dagger-like upper jaws are longer and more pointed in the female (Fig. 3) than in the male. The legs are stronger in the female, their hair is stiff, in the male the leg hair is soft. The antennae thicken slightly towards the outside. In the male, they are thirteen-limbed, black throughout and relatively elongated. In the female they are twelve-limbed, shorter and curved. The male has three thorns on the ninth sternite which the female lacks.

In the subspecies Megascolia maculata maculata , the hairs on the breast and the last abdominal segments are reddish to yellowish in the female (Fig. 4), in the male part of the scutum and the last abdominal segments are hairy red on the upper side (Fig. 2). The female cuticle is black with a shade of brown.

In the subspecies Megascolia maculata flavifrons , the hair on the head, chest and the entire abdomen is black, the cuticle is deep black. In the male, the hair over the yellow spots is light (pictures under web links).

In the case of Megascolia maculata bischoffi , which is only native to Cyprus , the hairiness of the last abdominal segments is brown-red in the female and light red-yellow on the upper side in the male.

biology

The diurnal species prefers dry, warm biotopes. It produces a generation per year. The animals appear in Central Europe in early midsummer. The adults are nectar eaters and prefer blue and red-blue flowers from different families when foraging, such as B. the genus of leek ( Allium ), thistles and thistle-like man litter species.

The males appear in front of the females both in terms of time of day and season. In search of a sexual partner, they fly over the area at a height of 50 to 80 centimeters, preferably against the direction of the wind. The flight is only briefly interrupted to eat. When the females appear around noon, their presence will be detected by the males before the females have even reached the surface of the earth. Numerous males fly up and down quickly over the area where the female will emerge. The female is mated immediately after its appearance, usually by the largest male. With it it loses its attractiveness for other males. While the females crawl into the ground towards evening and spend the night there, the males continue their search flight. Often they spend the night together on flowers.

The mated female spends a lot of time and energy looking for a suitable host . This is usually a larva of the rhinoceros beetle ( Oryctes nasicornis ) in the last larval stage; the larvae of stag beetle ( Lucanus cervus ), walker ( Polyphylla fullo ) and Anoxia villosa are also possible. The female flies in loops about 15 cm above the ground. It senses the larva with its sense of smell and digs up to it. The female attacks the larva as soon as it reaches them. It tries to stab the nerve ganglia on the underside of the body. The larvae try to twist and bend over to protect the endangered area or to escape. The wasp, for its part, tries to force the larva to change its position by bites and stings without releasing poison. When the larva begins to fatigue, the wasp gives it a few preparatory stings. As soon as the resistance of the larva subsides sufficiently, it is stung into the abdominal marrow by the wasp on the underside of the chest in the area between the middle and rear pair of legs .

The poison contains [Thr 6 ] bradykinin and megascoliakinin ([Thr 6 ] bradykinin-Lys-Ala). These poisons irreversibly block synaptic transmission to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors on the presynaptic side in the insect's nervous system . The sting leads to the final immobility of the larva.

In the experiment none of the larvae succeeded in finally shaking off the wasp. Paralysis occurs in rhinoceros beetle larvae after three to five minutes. If the larva is in an unfavorable environment, the wasp looks for another larva. The movement of paralyzed larvae into more suitable surroundings was also observed. If the larva is in loose soil, the female salivates the soil particles around the paralyzed larva and compresses and sticks them together to form a simple cave. It cleans the beetle larvae, removes any parasites that may be present, and lays a yolk-rich egg on the outside of the beetle larvae. The egg is glued to the underside of the beetle larva in such a way that the end at which the larval head appears when hatching comes to rest on the skin of the beetle larva. Then the female starts looking for another beetle larva. After hatching, the wasp larvae only drill their heads into the beetle larvae and suck them out. The rest of the wasp larva remains outside of the beetle larva. The wasp larvae molt three times, then pupate in a self-made cocoon in which they hibernate. The species thus shows an early stage of brood care within the dagger wasps, which in related wasp groups leads to the construction of a breeding cave into which the paralyzed prey is entered. Fixing the egg in a certain position is, however, a further development of a simple oviposition on the paralyzed animal.

Occurrence

The subspecies Megascolia maculata maculata is widespread in the eastern Mediterranean, but also reaches southern France. To the east, the distribution area extends into Iran.

The subspecies Megascolia maculata flavifrons is restricted to the western Mediterranean area ( Italy , France, Spain , Morocco and Algeria , Andorra , Balearic Islands , Corsica ). Both subspecies occur in France and northern Italy.

The subspecies Megascolia maculata bischoffi is endemic to Cyprus .

supporting documents

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Megascolia maculata in Fauna Europaea. Retrieved February 2, 2013
  2. ^ Regiscolia (sub-genus) in Fauna Europaea. Retrieved February 2, 2013
  3. ^ Megascolia at Fauna Europaea. Retrieved February 2, 2013
  4. ↑ a b Io. Christ. Fabricius: Systema Entomologiae. Flensburg / Leipzig 1775 first description p. 391: 355, no.3
  5. ↑ Ioh.Christ.Fabricius: Mantissa Insectorum. Vol. 1 1787 Copy of the first description pp. 280/281.
  6. ^ PL Vander Linden: Observations sur les Hymnoptères d'Europe de la famille des Fouisseurs October 1826 on Google .
  7. ↑ a b Jaques Hamon, Till Osten: Le nom de la grande Scolie européen à tete jaune est-il Scolia (Triscolia) flavifrons (Fabricius 1787) ou bien Megascolia (Regiscolia) maculata (Drury 1773) In: Bull. Soc. linn. Bordeaux. 22 (1) 1994, pp. 13-17.
  8. ↑ H. Burmeister: Comments on the general structure and the sex differences in the species of the genus Scolia Halle 1854. Google book
  9. ↑ a b H. de Saussure. J. Sichel: Catalogus specierum generis Scolia (sensu latiori)…. Geneva, Paris 1864 Google e-book
  10. ↑ JG Betrem, J. Chesterbradlay: Annotations on the genera Triscolia, Megascolia and Scolia (Hymenoptera, Scoliidae) on the Internet
  11. ↑ D. Drury: Illustrations of natural history 1773. Figure 3 on plate 40 (Pl. XL) Description 2 pages behind (Fig. III)
  12. ^ A b Till Osten: Second contribution to the knowledge of the Scoliidenfauna of Cyprus In: Entomofauna. Vol. 15 Issue 43, ISSN  0250-4413 , pp. 501-508. (as PDF)
  13. ^ Q. Argaman: Generic synopsis of Scoliidae (Hymenoptera, Scolioidea). In: Annales Historico-naturales Musei Nationalis Hungarici. Vol 88, Budapest 1996, pp. 171-222. (as PDF)
  14. ↑ a b T. Osten: The Scoliids of the Mediterranean area and adjacent regions, a key to identification In: Linzer biol. Contribution 32/2 (Nov. 2000), pp. 537-593. (as PDF)
  15. ↑ T. Osten, E. Ebrahimi, A. Masoumeh Chahartaghi: The Scoliids of Iran and neighboring regions with notes on their way of life. In: Entomofauna. Vol. 24, Issue 26 (2003), ISSN  0250-4413 , pp. 353-380. (as PDF)
  16. ↑ K. Konno, MS Palma et al.: Identification of bradykinins in solitary wasp venoms. In: Toxicon . 40 (2002), pp. 309-312 (as PDF)
  17. ^ N. Vereecken. J. Carriere: Contribution à la étologique de la grande Scolie à front jaune Megascolia maculata (F. 1775) (Hyamenoptera, Scoliidae) en France Méditeranéenne. In: Note faunique de Gembloux. 53 (2003), pp. 71–80 (as PDF)  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / homepages.ulb.ac.be  
  18. ↑ Barbara IP Barratt: Aspects of reproductive biology and behavior of scoliid wasps DOC Science Internal Series 147. Department of Conservation, 2003 Wellington (as PDF)
  19. ↑ J. Zahradnik: bees, wasps, ants, the hymenoptera of Central Europe. Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1985, ISBN 3-440-05445-4 .
  20. ↑ Dewanand Makhan: A new record of the scoliid wasp, Megascolia (Regiscolia) maculata maculata (Drury, 1773) from Ahvanu, Damghan, Semnan Province, Iran (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Scoliidae) Calodema, 218 (2012), pp. 1– 2 (as PDF) ( Memento of the original from April 26, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.calodema.com
  21. ↑ a b Klaus Hellrigl: On the faunistics of the "sting wasps" in South Tyrol (Hymenoptera, Apocrita aculeata). In: forest observer. vol. 2/3, 2006, pp. 389-420.
  22. ↑ Megascolia maculata flavifrons in Fauna Europaea. Retrieved February 2, 2013
  23. ↑ Megascolia maculata bischoffi in Fauna Europaea. Retrieved February 6, 2013

literature

F. Amiet: Fauna Helvetica 23: Vespoidea 1 . Center Suisse de Cartographie de la Faune, 2008, ISBN 978-2-88414-035-5 .

Web links

Commons : Yellow-headed Dagger Wasp ( Megascolia maculata )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files