Copper gold wasp
| Copper gold wasp | ||||||||||||
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Copper gold wasp ( Chrysura cuprea ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Chrysura cuprea | ||||||||||||
| ( Rossi , 1790) |
The copper gold wasp ( Chrysura cuprea ) is a species from the family of gold wasps (Chrysididae).
features
The copper gold wasps are six to ten millimeters long. They are almost completely colored metallic red-gold, only the sides of the rear part of the thorax and the legs are colored metallic bluish. The tergite of the last abdominal segment has no teeth.
Occurrence
The animals occur in southern and central Germany and the rest of southern central Europe on dry grass and stony slopes and are not common. They fly from May to July. They live in temperature-favored areas with little vegetation, especially on dry grass or stony terrain.
Way of life
The larvae of the animals live parasitically on larvae of the red-bristled mason bee ( Osmia rufohirta ), which create their nests in snail shells . The golden wasp has to lay its egg immediately after the bee has laid its eggs if the bee is looking for material to seal the snail shell, since the food supplies are not brought into any of their own chambers. That is why copper wasps are often found waiting near such bee nests. From time to time it is investigated how far the nest building has progressed. If the animal is surprised by the bee, it turns into a ball and can be carried outside.
literature
- Heiko Bellmann : bees, wasps, ants. Hymenoptera of Central Europe . Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co KG, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-440-09690-4 .
