''Sceliphron'', also known as black mud daubers or black mud-dauber wasps, is a genus of

Hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order (biology), order of insects, comprising the sawfly, sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are Par ...

of the

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 ...

family of wasps. They are solitary

mud dauber Mud dauber (or "mud wasp" or "dirt dauber") is a name commonly applied to a number of wasps from either the family Sphecidae or Crabronidae which build their nests from mud; this excludes members of the family Vespidae (especially the subfamily Eu ...

s and build nests made of mud. Nests are frequently constructed in shaded niches, often just inside of windows or vent openings, and it may take a female only a day to construct a cell requiring dozens of trips carrying mud. Females will add new cells one by one to the nest after each cell is provisioned. They provision these nests with

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

s, such as

crab spider The Thomisidae are a family of spiders, including about 170 genera and over 2,100 species. The common name crab spider is often linked to species in this family, but is also applied loosely to many other families of spiders. Many members of th ...

orb-weaver spider Orb-weaver spiders are members of the spider family Araneidae. They are the most common group of builders of spiral wheel-shaped webs often found in gardens, fields, and forests. The English word "orb" can mean "circular", hence the English name ...

s and

jumping spider Jumping spiders are a group of spiders that constitute the family (biology), family Salticidae. As of 2019, this family contained over 600 described genera and over 6,000 described species, making it the largest family of spiders at 13% of all sp ...

s in particular, as food for the developing

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e. Each mud cell contains one egg and is provided with several prey items. Females of some species lay a modest average of 15 eggs over their whole lifespan. Various parasites attack these nests, including several 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 ...

s, primarily by sneaking into the nest while the resident mud dauber is out foraging. As is the case with many insect genera, there are many tropical species. Some common temperate species include '' S. caementarium'' and '' S. curvatum''. Like other solitary wasps, ''Sceliphron'' species are not aggressive unless threatened. They are sometimes regarded as beneficial due to their control of spider populations, though the spiders themselves may be beneficial in controlling pest insects. Species such as ''Sceliphron curvatum'' are invasive in some parts of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, where they have been observed to rapidly increase their range in recent years.

''Sceliphron'' species

There are 34 valid species of ''Sceliphron''. * ''

Sceliphron arabs ''Sceliphron'', also known as black mud daubers or black mud-dauber wasps, is a genus of Hymenoptera of the Sphecidae family of wasps. They are solitary mud daubers and build nests made of mud. Nests are frequently constructed in shaded niches, o ...

'' (Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau, 1845) * ''

Sceliphron argentifrons ''Sceliphron'', also known as black mud daubers or black mud-dauber wasps, is a genus of Hymenoptera of the Sphecidae family of wasps. They are solitary mud daubers and build nests made of mud. Nests are frequently constructed in shaded niches, o ...

'' (

Cresson ''Cresson'' is the French word for ''watercress''. It may refer to: ; Places * Battle of Cresson, a small battle fought on May 1, 1187, in what now is Israel, near Nazareth * Cresson, Pennsylvania, a United States borough * Cressona, Pennsylvania, ...

, 1916) * '' Sceliphron asiaticum'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

, 1758); Neotropics ::Type locality ''In Indiis'' was interpreted as India; syn. ''S. figulum'' * '' Sceliphron assimile'' ( Dahlbom, 1843) – Clayman's mud dauber; Texas, Mexico and Caribbean island * '' Sceliphron aterrimum'' (Marquet, 1875) * ''

Sceliphron caementarium ''Sceliphron caementarium'', also known as the yellow-legged mud-dauber wasp, black-and-yellow mud dauber (within the US), or black-waisted mud-dauber (outside of the US), is a species of sphecid wasp. There are some 30 other species of ''Scelip ...

'' ( Drury, 1773) (''Sphex'') – black and yellow mud dauber, yellow-legged mud dauber, black-waisted mud dauber ::North America, established in Europe and Pacific islands by the 1970s * '' Sceliphron coromandelicum'' ( Lepeletier, 1845) * ''

Sceliphron curvatum ''Sceliphron curvatum'', also known as the Asian mud-dauber wasp, is an insect in the genus ''Sceliphron'' of the wasp family Sphecidae. Like all wasps of this genus, it is a solitary species and builds nests out of mud. ''S. curvatum'' is native ...

'' (Smith, 1870) – Asian mud dauber; Asia, Europe since 1970s * '' Sceliphron deforme'' (F. Smith, 1856); Asia, reported from Europe in 2004 * '' Sceliphron destillatorium'' (

Illiger Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger (19 November 1775 – 10 May 1813) was a German entomologist and zoologist. Illiger was the son of a merchant in Braunschweig. He studied under the entomologist Johann Hellwig, and later worked on the zoological colle ...

, 1807); southern Palaearctic * '' Sceliphron fasciatum'' (Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau, 1845) * '' Sceliphron fervens'' (F. Smith, 1858) * '' Sceliphron fistularium'' (Dahlbom, 1843); Neotropics * ''

Sceliphron formosum ''Sceliphron'', also known as black mud daubers or black mud-dauber wasps, is a genus of Hymenoptera of the Sphecidae family of wasps. They are solitary mud daubers and build nests made of mud. Nests are frequently constructed in shaded niches, o ...

'' (F. Smith, 1856); Australia * ''

Sceliphron fossuliferum ''Sceliphron'', also known as black mud daubers or black mud-dauber wasps, is a genus of Hymenoptera of the Sphecidae family of wasps. They are solitary mud daubers and build nests made of mud. Nests are frequently constructed in shaded niches, o ...

'' (Gribodo, 1895) * '' Sceliphron funestum'' Kohl, 1918 * '' Sceliphron fuscum'' Klug, 1801 * '' Sceliphron intrudens'' (F. Smith, 1858) * '' Sceliphron isaaci'' Jha and Farooqi, 1995 * '' Sceliphron jamaicense'' Fabricius, 1775; Mexico, Caribbean islands * ''

Sceliphron javanum ''Sceliphron'', also known as black mud daubers or black mud-dauber wasps, is a genus of Hymenoptera of the Sphecidae family of wasps. They are solitary mud daubers and build nests made of mud. Nests are frequently constructed in shaded niches, o ...

'' Lepeletier, 1845 * ''

Sceliphron laetum ''Sceliphron laetum'' is a wasp in the family Sphecidae, the mud-dauber wasps. Like other members of this genus, it is a solitary species and builds cells out of mud in which to rear its young, provisioning them with paralysed spiders, and layin ...

'' (F. Smith, 1856); Australia * '' Sceliphron madraspatanum'' ( Fabricius, 1781); Mediterranean * '' Sceliphron murarium'' (F. Smith, 1863) * '' Sceliphron neobilineatum'' Jha and Farooqi, 1995 * ''

Sceliphron paraintrudens ''Sceliphron'', also known as black mud daubers or black mud-dauber wasps, is a genus of Hymenoptera of the Sphecidae family of wasps. They are solitary mud daubers and build nests made of mud. Nests are frequently constructed in shaded niches, o ...

'' Jha and Farooqi, 1995 * '' Sceliphron pietschmanni'' Kohl, 1918 * '' Sceliphron quartinae'' (Gribodo 1884) * '' Sceliphron rectum'' Kohl, 1918 * ''

Sceliphron rufopictum ''Sceliphron'', also known as black mud daubers or black mud-dauber wasps, is a genus of Hymenoptera of the Sphecidae family of wasps. They are solitary mud daubers and build nests made of mud. Nests are frequently constructed in shaded niches, o ...

'' (F. Smith, 1856) * ''

Sceliphron seistaniensis ''Sceliphron'', also known as black mud daubers or black mud-dauber wasps, is a genus of Hymenoptera of the Sphecidae family of wasps. They are solitary mud daubers and build nests made of mud. Nests are frequently constructed in shaded niches, o ...

'' Jha and Farooqi, 1995 * '' Sceliphron shestakovi'' Gussakovskij, 1928 * '' Sceliphron spirifex'' (Linnaeus, 1758); Africa, southern Europe * '' Sceliphron unifasciatum'' (F. Smith, 1860)

References

* Observations on the biology of ''Sceliphron spirifex'' (Linnaeus, 1758) in Romagna, Pezzi G. *

External links

Short discussion on genus ''Sceliphron''.

* ttp://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?guide=Sphecidae Online guide to eastern North American SphecidaeDocuments how to differentiate ''Sceliphron caementarium'' from other Sphecids __NOTOC__ {{Taxonbar, from=Q139681 Sphecidae Apoidea genera Taxa named by Johann Christoph Friedrich Klug

''Sceliphron'' species

See also

References

External links