''Gasteruption jaculator'' is a species of

wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...

in the family

Gasteruptiidae The Gasteruptiidae are one of the more distinctive families among the apocritan wasps, with surprisingly little variation in appearance for a group that contains around 500 species in two subfamilies (Gasteruptiinae and Hyptiogastrinae) and with ...

Distribution

This species is mainly present in Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, in the eastern

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The ...

, and in the

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

Description

The head and thorax are completely black. The head is strongly rounded, the thorax is elongated in a sort of long neck ('' propleura''), which separates the head from the body. Also the abdomen is strongly stretched, broader at the posterior end and placed on the upper chest (''

propodeum Propodeum labelled within the alitrunk of an ant worker The propodeum is a term that can refer to unrelated structures in insects or in mollusks. Insects The first abdominal segment in Apocrita Hymenoptera (wasps, bees and ants) is known a ...

''). The colour of the abdomen is black, with reddish-orange rings. The tibiae of the hind legs are club shaped. In the female the ovipositor is usually very long with a white tip. In resting position, these wasps slowly and rhythmically raise and lower the abdomen.

Life cycle

The female of this parasitic wasp lays its eggs on the body of larvae of

solitary bee Solitary is the state of being alone or in solitude. The term may refer to: * Solitary (album), ''Solitary'' (album), 2008 album by Don Dokken * Solitary (2020 film), ''Solitary'' (2020 film), a British sci-fi thriller film * Solitary (upcoming fi ...

s or

s using its long

ovipositor The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typica ...

. Upon hatching, its larvae will devour grubs and its victim's supplies of pollen and nectar. The adults grow up to long and can mostly be encountered from May through September feeding on

Apiaceae Apiaceae () or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium,'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot, or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering p ...

species.

Habitat

''Gasteruption jaculator'' has been found visiting various flowers, or hovering around the nests of solitary bees and wasps in gardens and meadows. The species is commonly found during May to September.

References

External links

Biolib

Fauna Europaea

Naturespot

Los W. (ed.): Fauna Europaea {{Taxonbar, from=Q3098878 Evanioidea Hymenoptera of Europe Hymenoptera of Asia Wasps described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Parasites of Hymenoptera