Short-stalked sand wasp

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Short-stalked sand wasp
Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Hymenoptera (Hymenoptera)
Superfamily : Apoidea
Family : Sphecidae
Genre : Short-handled sand wasps ( Podalonia )
Type : Short-stalked sand wasp
Scientific name
Podalonia affinis
( W. Kirby , 1798)

The short-handled sand wasp ( Podalonia affinis ) is a hymenoptera from the Sphecidae family . The species is not endangered.

features

The wasp reaches a body length of 13 to 18 millimeters, with the males being slightly smaller than the females. It resembles the sand wasps ( Ammophila ) in its appearance , but has a less slender body and a significantly shorter metasoma . The dorsal field of the propodeum is hairless, which distinguishes the species from the similar Podalonia hirsuta . Podalonia alpina is significantly smaller with a maximum body length of 14 millimeters.

Occurrence

The species is widespread in Central Europe, but occurs only locally, such as in the North German Plain, frequently. It colonizes open sandy habitats. The animals fly from May to September, with the peak of their occurrence in July and August.

Way of life

The short-handled sand wasp only carries one subterranean caterpillar of the owl butterfly species into its nest . This is a lot bigger than the wasp. Before the female starts building the nest, she is on the lookout for prey, as with the wasps . The victim is dug up and paralyzed with a stab, only transported a maximum of one meter away and placed in an exposed place such as a tuft of grass. The nest is then dug, with the sand being transported on foot or in flight and deposited in different places so that no pile is created. Finally, the caterpillar is put down in front of the nest entrance and the female wasp enters the nest to drag the caterpillar inward. Occasionally the order of this behavior is deviated from and a female digs the nest before a suitable host has been killed.

supporting documents

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Heiko Bellmann : Bees, wasps, ants. Hymenoptera of Central Europe . Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co KG, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-440-09690-4 , p. 165 [1] .
  2. ↑ Manfred Blösch: The digger wasps in Germany . Goecke & Evers, Keltern 2000, p. 120.
  3. ↑ Hans-Joachim Jacobs: The digger wasps of Germany. Identification key . Goecke & Evers, Keltern 2007, p. 42 u. 44.

Web links

Commons : Short-handled sand wasp ( Podalonia affinis )  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files