Pseudomalus Auratus
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''Pseudomalus auratus'' is a species of
cuckoo wasp Commonly known as cuckoo wasps or emerald wasps, the hymenopteran family Chrysididae is a very large cosmopolitan group (over 3000 described species) of parasitoid or kleptoparasitic wasps, often highly sculptured, with brilliant metallic colors ...
(insects in the family Chrysididae).


Description

''Pseudomalus auratus'' can reach a length of . Head and thorax of these little wasps are metallic bluish, while the abdomen is reddish. Head and thorax are hairy.BWARS
/ref>Chrysis.net
/ref>


Biology

These wasps fly from late May to early October. They mainly parasitize hymenoptera in the '' Apidae'' family ('' Ceratina''), '' Colletidae'' family ('' Hylaeus''), '' Megachilidae'' family (''
Anthidium ''Anthidium'' is a genus of bees often called carder or potter bees, who use conifer resin, plant hairs, mud, or a mix of them to build nests. They are in the family Megachilidae which is cosmopolitan in distribution and made up of species that ...
'') and in the '' Crabronidae'' family ('' Pemphredon lethifera'', '' Pemphredon unicolor'', '' Passaloecus gracilis'', '' Passaloecus turionum'', '' Passaloecus brevicornis'', '' Rhopalum coarctatum'', ''
Psenulus ''Psenulus'' is a genus of wasps in the family Crabronidae. The 160 species are found worldwide, but are best represented in the Indomalayan realm with 68. The Palearctic has 26, the Nearctic 4, and the Australasian realm 3. ''Psenulus'' is large ...
'' and '' Trypoxylon''). Larvae mainly can be found in blackberry and raspberry branches and dead wood.


Distribution and habitat

This species is present in most of Europe (UK, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Belgium, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Poland, Hungary, former Yugoslavia, Greece, Canary Islands, Crete and Switzerland, in the East Palearctic ecozone, in the Near East, in North Africa and in Asia (including Russia, Manchuria, Korea and Japan).Fauna europaea
/ref> These wasps inhabit open areas, forest edges and thickets where its nesting hosts can be found. It was accidentally introduced in the United States, probably before 1828
Bugguide


Bibliography

* Rolf Witt: Wespen. Beobachten, Bestimmen. Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1998, .


References

Chrysididae Wasps described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{wasp-stub