''Sphex funerarius'', the golden digger wasp, is a
species of
digger wasp of 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 ...
.
Description
''Sphex funerarius'' can reach a length of . These large, solitary, ground-nesting wasps are black with an orange-red large band on the anterior abdomen. On the head and the body there is fine and thin hair. Wings are yellowish with darkened tops of the front wings.
Ecology and life cycle
The larvae feed on living insects that the females paralyze and carry to the underground nest. The females of these digger wasps store several grasshoppers in a nest. They dig a 15 cm long corridor, with various brood chambers, in each of which one prey is stored with an egg. The preys are normally
orthoptera
Orthoptera () is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets, including closely related insects, such as the bush crickets or katydids and wētā. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – grassho ...
n
insects, particularly nymphs of locusts or
katydids. After three to four days, the eggs hatch and after another 18 days, the larvae are fully grown. Adults fly in July and August. They feed on the nectar of flowers (''
Apiaceae'', ''
Euphorbiaceae'', etc.).
Distribution
This species is present in southern and central parts of Europe and spread eastward to Central Asia.
Fauna europaea
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Gallery
File:Kelsterbach fg37.jpg, ''Sphex funerarius'' with ''Metrioptera bicolor
''Bicolorana bicolor'' is a species of bush cricket in the subfamily Tettigoniinae and tribe Platycleidini: found in mainland Western Europe Individuals are normally brachypterous, but long-winged forms may be encountered.
The species was origi ...
'' as prey
File: Sphecidae - Sphex funerarius .JPG, ''Sphex funerarius''. Museum specimen
File: Sphex funerarius mit Beute.ogv, ''Sphex funerarius'' digging and introducing prey into its nest
References
*Menke, A.S. und Pulawski, W.J.(2000). A Review of the Sphex flavipennis Species Group — Journal of Hymenoptera Research: Vol. 9, No. 2: S. 324—346
Sphecidae
Articles containing video clips
Insects described in 1934
{{Apoidea-stub