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Sphecidae (Stizinae) (Sphecoidea). -- <Images>
& <Juveniles> Description
Members of the subfamily Stizinae
prey on Homoptera and Orthoptera.
There are relatively few species.
The large cicada killer, Sphecius
speciosus Drury is one of the more common species in North
America. it stores its nests with
adults of the periodical cicada, Magicicada
septendecim L. (Riley 1892). Wasps appear in the field in July and
August. The cicada is completely
paralyzed by the sting, but it has been found that they will, under right
conditions, persist in good physical conditions for more than one year. The prey is of such a large size that the
wasp has difficulty in transporting to the nest. Thus, she adopts an expedient means whereby the prey is dragged
to some height in a tree, after which she glides with it as far as possible
toward the nest. The procedure may be
repeated several times until the nest is reached. Sometimes two cicadas are placed in a single cell, but usually
only one. The egg is laid at one side
of the thoracic venter, and hatching ensues in 2-3 days, with larval feeding
completed in a week. The cocoon is
spun in the cell in the soil and is conspicuous by having two irregular rows
of "pores" at one side which are thought to serve for ventilation
(Clausen 1940/1962). Finnamore & Michener (1993)
treated this widespread group as a subfamily of Nyssonidae in the
Apoidea. There are >300
species. Adults are medium small to
large and black, black and red, or black and yellow. Prey are Orthoptera or Mantodea
(Dictuoptera), although members of one genus are cleptoparasitic on Sphecidae
and probably Bembicinae. In Norther
America there are 11 species in 3 genera (one species in Canada). The effect of the sting of Sphecius on the cicada causes lesions
to form in the main parts of the central nervous system, similar to those
produced by certain chemical pesticides, such as pyrethrins (Hartzell 1935). Krombein (1984, 1985) revised the
Sri Lankan species. References: Please refer to <biology.ref.htm>, [Additional references
may be found at: MELVYL
Library] Krombein,
K. V. 1984. Biosystematic
Studies of Ceylonese Wasps, XIII: A Monograph of the Stizinae (Hymenoptera:
Sphecoidea, Nyssonidae) Smithsonian Contrib. Zool. 388:
37 pp., 30 fig. |