Sand wasps
| Sand wasps | ||||||||||||
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Common sand wasp ( Ammophila sabulosa ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Ammophila | ||||||||||||
| W. Kirby , 1798 |
Sand wasps ( Ammophila ) are a genus of digger wasps (Spheciformes) from the family Sphecidae . The genus comprises 187 species worldwide, the main distribution area are the warm regions of Asia and the Mediterranean area. There are 70 species in the Palearctic and 15 species in Europe. Six species are native to Central Europe, three of them in Germany.
features
The large and slender digger wasps have a stalk-shaped abdomen at the base, which, unlike the similar short-stalked sand wasps ( Podalonia ), does not consist of one, but two abdomen segments. The stem thickens increasingly towards the back. The thorax has small, white, silvery, shiny felt spots. The males also have short, silvery hairs on the forehead plate ( clypeus ). The mandibles are long and strong. There are three teeth on the inside in the females and one in the males. The females have to match the Nistweise in the sand at the tarsus can be pawed the front legs a stiff bristle comb, with the sand. However, the sand is loosened with the mandibles.
Way of life
The sand wasp brood is supplied with caterpillars from butterflies or anal caterpillars . As with the short-handled sand wasps, the prey is paralyzed by stings and then transported away in flight with the head forward and the stomach up. It is held with the mandibles and also with the front legs. Occasionally the route is partly covered on foot because of the weight of the prey. It also happens that the caterpillar is laid down and the female takes orientation flights to the nest. The nest is made in the sand, always before the hunt.
Often are Imagines from Fächerflügler Xenos sphecidarum parasitized . Adult sand wasps are flower visitors, but also eat honeydew from aphids .
Species (Europe)
- Ammophila albotomentosa Morice , 1900
- Ammophila campestris Latreille , 1809
- Ammophila gracillima Taschenberg , 1869
- Ammophila heydeni Dahlbom , 1845
- Ammophila hungarica Mocsary , 1883
- Ammophila laevicollis E. Andre , 1886
- Ammophila leclercqi Menke , 1964
- Ammophila modesta Mocsary , 1883
- Ammophila nasuta Lepeletier , 1845
- Ammophila occipitalis F. Morawitz , 1890
- Ammophila pubescens Curtis , 1836
- Ammophila sabulosa ( Linnaeus , 1758)
- Ammophila sareptana cabbage , 1884
- Ammophila striata Mocsary , 1878
- Ammophila terminata F. Smith , 1856
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Manfred Blösch: The digger wasps in Germany: way of life, behavior, distribution . 1st edition. Goecke & Evers, 2000, ISBN 3-931374-26-2 , pp. 126 f .
- ↑ Ammophila. Fauna Europaea, accessed July 24, 2010 .
literature
- Manfred Blösch: The digger wasps in Germany: way of life, behavior, distribution . 1st edition. Goecke & Evers, 2000, ISBN 3-931374-26-2 .
