Prionyx Saevus

''Prionyx'' is a genus of wasps in the family Sphecidae. They are known to hunt and feed on grasshoppers.

Behavior

Prior to laying their eggs the female ''Prionyx'' stings a grasshopper causing paralysis. She will then bury the grasshopper in a burrow she has excavated, lay an egg on the body, and then seal the burrow. When the egg develops it feeds on the grasshopper until it has matured, and then pupates.

Name Origin

The name ''Prionyx'' comes from the Greek words "Prion" (Saw) and "Onyx/Onychus" (Claw), which refers to the saw-like endings on the creature's legs.

Species

These 59 species belong to the genus ''Prionyx'':

* ''Prionyx afghaniensis'' (de Beaumont, 1970) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx atratus'' (Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau, 1845) ^{i c g b}
* ''Prionyx bifoveolatus'' (Taschenberg, 1869) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx binghami'' Jha and Farooqi, 1996 ^{i c g}
* '' Prionyx canadensis'' (Provancher, 1887) ^{i c g b}
* ''Prionyx chilensis'' (Spinola, 1851) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx chobauti'' (Roth, 1925) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx crudelis'' (F. Smith, 1856) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx damascenus'' (de Beaumont, 1968) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx elegantulus'' (R. Turner, 1912) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx erythrogaster'' (Rohwer, 1913) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx fervens'' (Linnaeus, 1758) ^{i c g b}
* ''Prionyx foxi'' Bohart & Menke, 1963 ^{i c g b}
* ''Prionyx fragilis'' (Nurse, 1903) ^{i c g}
* '' Prionyx funebris'' (Berland, 1926) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx globosus'' (F. Smith, 1856) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx gobiensis'' (Tsuneki, 1971) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx guichardi'' (de Beaumont, 1967) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx haberhaueri'' (Radoszkowski, 1871) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx herrerai'' (Brèthes, 1926) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx indus'' (Linnaeus, 1758) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx insignis'' (Kohl, 1885) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx judaeus'' (de Beaumont, 1968) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx kirbii'' (Vander Linden, 1827) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx kurdistanicus'' (Balthasar, 1954) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx leuconotus'' (F. Morawitz, 1890) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx lividocinctus'' (A. Costa, 1861) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx macula'' (Fabricius, 1804) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx melanotus'' (F. Morawitz, 1890) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx neoxenus'' (Kohl, 1890) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx nigropectinatus'' (Taschenberg, 1869) ^{i c g}
* '' Prionyx niveatus'' (Dufour, 1854) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx notinitidus'' (Willink, 1951) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx nudatus'' (Kohl, 1885) ^{i c g}
* '' Prionyx parkeri'' Bohart & Menke, 1963 ^{i c g b}
* '' Prionyx persicus'' (Mocsáry, 1883) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx popovi'' Guichard, 1988 ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx pseudostriatus'' (Giner Marí, 1944) ^{i c g}
* '' Prionyx pumilio'' (Taschenberg, 1869) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx radoszkowskyi'' (Kohl, 1888) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx reymondi'' (Roth, 1954) ^{i c g}
* '' Prionyx saevus'' (F. Smith, 1856) ^{i c g}
* '' Prionyx semistriatus'' (Schrottky, 1920) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx senegalensis'' (Arnold, 1951) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx senilis'' (Morice, 1911) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx sennae'' (Mantero, 1901) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx simillimus'' (Fernald, 1907) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx sirdariensis'' (Radoszkowski, 1877) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx songaricus'' (Eversmann, 1849) ^{i c g}
* '' Prionyx stschurowskii'' (Radoszkowski, 1877) ^{i c g}
* '' Prionyx subatratus'' (R. Bohart, 1958) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx subfuscatus'' (Dahlbom, 1845) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx sundewalli'' (Dahlbom, 1845) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx thomae'' (Fabricius, 1775) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx trichargyrus'' (Spinola, 1839) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx viduatus'' (Christ, 1791) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx vittatus'' (Kohl, 1884) ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx xanthabdominalis'' Li and Yang, 1995 ^{i c g}
* ''Prionyx zarudnyi'' (Gussakovskij, 1933) ^{i c g}

Data sources: i = ITIS, c = Catalogue of Life, g = GBIF, b = Bugguide.net

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q540267

Sphecidae
Apoidea genera