''Cryptocheilus discolor'' is a species of
pepsid spider wasp
Wasps in the family Pompilidae are commonly called spider wasps, spider-hunting wasps, or pompilid wasps. The family is cosmopolitan, with some 5,000 species in six subfamilies. Nearly all species are solitary (with the exception of some group-ne ...
which is found in the
Mediterranean Basin and the
Middle East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
.
Distribution
From
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...
and
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
east through the Mediterranean Basin to Iran and Central Asia.
Biology
Apparently little known, has been recorded feeding on the flowers of ''
Mentha pulegium
''Mentha pulegium'', commonly (European) pennyroyal, or pennyrile, also called mosquito plant and pudding grass, is a species of flowering plant in the Mentha, mint Family (biology), family, Lamiaceae, native to Europe, North Africa, and the Midd ...
''.
References
Pepsinae
Hymenoptera of Europe
Insects described in 1793
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