Pemphredon Fabricii
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''Pemphredon'' is a
genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of digger wasps in the family
Pemphredonidae Pemphredonidae is a family of aphid wasps formerly treated as the subfamily Pemphredoninae. There are 19 genera and 556 described species in the family. Description and identification The primary morphological distinction between the Pemphredond ...
. The genus is common in the
Holarctic The Holarctic realm is a biogeographic realm that comprises the majority of habitats found throughout the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. It corresponds to the floristic Boreal Kingdom. It includes both the Nearctic zoogeographical reg ...
, with 12 species represented in Europe. Several species are considered beneficial because of their specialization in
aphids Aphids are small sap-sucking insects in the Taxonomic rank, family Aphididae. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white Eriosomatinae, woolly ...
.


Features

''Pemphredon'' species are often small and black coloured and have some similarity with
ants Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...
. They have a short, furrowed abdominal stem, two submarginal cells in the forewing and a well developed head, especially behind the compound eyes. The species identification is difficult. Based on the course of the submarginal veins the genus is divided into three species groups, which some authors also regard as subgenera. These are the ''lugubris'', ''morio'' and ''lethifer'' groups. In the former, the outer vein of the second submarginal cell meets the marginal cell noticeably below the middle and the second returning vein ends in the second submarginal cell, which is usually longer than wide. In the ''morio'' group, the outer vein meets the marginal cell in the middle and the second submarginal cell is wider than long. Another feature of this group is a small spike between the antennae. In the third group, the outer vein meets the marginal cell near the middle, but the second returning vein joins before or just below the second submarginal cell, which is usually the same length or longer than wide.


Lifestyle

The females usually build their nests in hollow or marrowy stems or branches. Some species also use abandoned feeding tunnels in the wood or build their nests in
plant gall Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external Tissue (biology), tissues of plants. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to benig ...
s. If there is a lack of space, the cells lie in lines one behind the other, otherwise they are branched. Short side passages are often first filled with bore dust and only later developed into cells. Each cell is supplied with 10 to 60
Aphididae The Aphididae are a very large insect family in the aphid superfamily ( Aphidoidea), of the order Hemiptera. These insects suck the sap from plant leaves. Several thousand species are placed in this family, many of which are considered plant/cr ...
, whereby the selection of the species is unspecific. The prey is either stunned with a sting or killed with the mandibles. Then they are grabbed with the mandibles and transported to the nest. When a cell is completely supplied, an egg is laid on the ground or in the middle of the cell between the prey animals. In many species, the larvae do not pupate in a complete
cocoon Cocoon may refer to: * Cocoon (silk), a pupal casing made by moth caterpillars and other insect larvae Music * Cocoon Recordings, a German record label * Cocoon (band), a French band * Cocoon (club), a techno club in Frankfurt am Main, Germany * ' ...
, but in a cap over the head, which can be a thin membrane that merges into the wall of the brood cell. Some species such as '' Pemphredon lethifer'' also produce a fine second membrane just below the cap. From the inner cells of the nest usually hatch females, from the outer males. The genus is proterandric, which means that the males hatch a few days before the females. In Central Europe, one generation per year is developed, in favourable years it can be two. The imagines of many species feed on honeydew, but sometimes also on the aphids themselves.
Parasitoid In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...
s of the genus are reported to be from the
cuckoo wasp Commonly known as cuckoo wasps or emerald wasps, the hymenopteran family Chrysididae is a very large cosmopolitan group (over 3000 described species) of parasitoid or kleptoparasitic wasps, often highly sculptured, with brilliant metallic color ...
s, ichneumon flies,
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 ...
and chalcidoid wasps.


Species (Europe)

*'' Pemphredon austriaca'' (Kohl 1888) *'' Pemphredon baltica'' (Merisuo 1972) *'' Pemphredon beaumonti'' (Hellen 1955) *'' Pemphredon flavistigma'' (Thomson 1874) *'' Pemphredon inornata'' (Say 1824) *'' Pemphredon lethifer'' (Shuckard 1837) *'' Pemphredon lugens'' (Dahlbom 1842) *'' Pemphredon lugubris'' (Fabricius 1793) *'' Pemphredon montana'' (Dahlbom 1845) *'' Pemphredon morio'' (Vander Linden 1829) *'' Pemphredon podagrica'' (Chevrier 1870) *'' Pemphredon rugifer'' (Dahlbom 1844)


References


External links


images
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Consortium for the Barcode of Life The Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) was an international initiative dedicated to supporting the development of DNA barcoding as a global standard for species identification. CBOL's Secretariat Office is hosted by the National Museum of ...
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1420280 Pemphredonidae Hymenoptera of Europe Taxa named by Pierre André Latreille Apoidea genera