Lestica alata
| Lestica alata | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Lestica alata | ||||||||||||
| ( Panzer , 1797) |
Lestica alata is a Hymenoptera from the family of Crabronidae .
features
The wasp reaches a body length of 9 to 12 millimeters (females) or 8 to 11 millimeters (males). The females have an evenly widened pygidial field and coarse wrinkled structured mesopleuras on the sides of the thorax . The metatarses on the front pair of legs are widened in the males, their mandibles are yellow. The females can easily be confused with those of the butterfly-hunting silver mouth wasps ( Lestica subterranea) , but have shiny mesopleuras with only weakly punctiform structures .
Occurrence
The species is distributed from northern Spain to northern Europe at 61 ° north latitude and in Asia, east to Japan. It colonizes dry sand and loess habitats with favorable temperatures. The species flies in one generation from late June to early September. It is rare in Central Europe.
Way of life
The females often make their nests together in the sand or loess. They consist of a long, spiral-shaped main passage and have a maximum of seven cells. Each of these cells is filled with four to nine adults from small butterflies or tensioners . The females hunt their prey by falling on the spot while in flight while hovering over them . The victims are clasped with the legs and stabbed with a stab.
literature
- Rolf Witt: Wasps. Observe, determine. Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1998, ISBN 3-89440-243-1 .