''Podalonia hirsuta'' is a species of parasitoidal wasps in the family
Sphecidae
The Sphecidae are a cosmopolitan family of wasps of the suborder Apocrita that includes sand wasps, mud daubers, and other thread-waisted wasps.
The name Sphecidae was formerly given to a much larger grouping of wasps. This was found to be p ...
.
Subspecies
* ''Podalonia hirsuta hirsuta'' (Scopoli, 1763)
* ''Podalonia hirsuta mervensis'' (Radoszkowski, 1887)
Description
''Podalonia hirsuta'' is similar to the ''sand wasps'' (''
Ammophila''). It has a big black head, a black thorax, with a threadlike waist (''
petiole''). The abdomen is black with a red-orange large band.
The females make their nests digging a burrow in a sandy area. The preys are generally large, hairless caterpillars of moths (
Noctuidae
The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family of moths. They are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly changing, along with the other f ...
). In the paralysed caterpillars they lay their eggs.
[Bees, Wasps & Ants Recording Society]
/ref>
Flight period extends from late March to mid-September in females, while males fly from June to September.[
]
Distribution and habitat
This species is present in most of Europe.Fauna europaea
/ref> This mainly coastal species commonly can be found in sandy soils.[
]
References
Sphecidae
Insects described in 1763
Taxa named by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli
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