The Australian cicada killer wasp, ''Exeirus lateritius'', the sole member of the
genus ''Exeirus'', is a large, solitary, ground-dwelling,
predatory wasp. It is related to the more common genus of cicada killers, ''
Sphecius
Cicada killer wasps (genus ''Sphecius'') are large, solitary, ground-dwelling, predatory wasps. They are so named because they hunt cicadas and provision their nests with them, after stinging and paralyzing them. Twenty-one species worldwide are ...
''. In
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, ''E. lateritius'' hunts over 200 species of
cicada.
Habitat
The wasps occur in warm, dry areas where there are enough
trees to support
cicadas, such as the
Murray-Darling basin, the south-east coast of the Australian mainland including Sydney, and
Tasmania.
Predation method
''Exeirus lateritius'' stings and paralyses cicadas high in the trees, making them drop to the ground, from where the wasp moves them to its burrow, pushing with its hind legs, sometimes over a distance of a hundred meters. The paralysed cicada is placed on one of many shelves in a "
catacomb
Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire.
Etymology and history
The first place to be referred ...
", to form the food-stock for the wasp grub which grows out of the egg deposited there., sometimes as deep as 60 cm underground
References
Crabronidae
Apoidea genera
Monotypic Hymenoptera genera
Hymenoptera of Australia
{{Apoidea-stub