''Sceliphron'', also known as black mud daubers or black mud-dauber wasps, is a genus of Hymenoptera of the Sphecidae family of wasps. They are solitary mud daubers and build nests made of mud. Nests are frequently constructed in shaded niches, often just inside of windows or vent openings, and it may take a female only a day to construct a cell requiring dozens of trips carrying mud. Females will add new cells one by one to the nest after each cell is provisioned. They provision these nests with spiders, such as crab spiders, orb-weaver spiders and jumping spiders in particular, as food for the developing larvae. Each mud cell contains one egg and is provided with several prey items. Females of some species lay a modest average of 15 eggs over their whole lifespan. Various parasites attack these nests, including several species of cuckoo wasps, primarily by sneaking into the nest while the resident mud dauber is out foraging. As is the case with many insect genera, there are many tropical species. Some common temperate species include ''Sceliphron caementarium, S. caementarium'' and ''Sceliphron curvatum, S. curvatum''. Like other solitary wasps, ''Sceliphron'' species are not aggressive unless threatened. They are sometimes regarded as beneficial due to their control of spider populations, though the spiders themselves may be beneficial in controlling pest insects. Species such as ''Sceliphron curvatum'' are invasive in some parts of Europe, where they have been observed to rapidly increase their range in recent years.

''Sceliphron'' species

There are 34 valid species of ''Sceliphron''. * ''Sceliphron arabs'' (Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau, 1845) * ''Sceliphron argentifrons'' (Ezra Townsend Cresson, Cresson, 1916) * ''Sceliphron asiaticum'' (Carl Linnaeus, Linnaeus, 1758); Neotropics ::Type locality ''In Indiis'' was interpreted as India; syn. ''S. figulum'' * ''Sceliphron assimile'' (Anders Gustaf Dahlbom, Dahlbom, 1843) – Clayman's mud dauber; Texas, Mexico and Caribbean island * ''Sceliphron aterrimum'' (Marquet, 1875) * ''Sceliphron caementarium'' (Dru Drury, Drury, 1773) (''Sphex'') – black and yellow mud dauber, yellow-legged mud dauber, black-waisted mud dauber ::North America, established in Europe and Pacific islands by the 1970s * ''Sceliphron coromandelicum'' (Amédée Louis Michel le Peletier, comte de Saint-Fargeau, Lepeletier, 1845) * ''Sceliphron curvatum'' (Smith, 1870) – Asian mud dauber; Asia, Europe since 1970s * ''Sceliphron deforme'' (F. Smith, 1856); Asia, reported from Europe in 2004 * ''Sceliphron destillatorium'' (Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger, Illiger, 1807); southern Palaearctic * ''Sceliphron fasciatum'' (Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau, 1845) * ''Sceliphron fervens'' (F. Smith, 1858) * ''Sceliphron fistularium'' (Dahlbom, 1843); Neotropics * ''Sceliphron formosum'' (F. Smith, 1856); Australia * ''Sceliphron fossuliferum'' (Gribodo, 1895) * ''Sceliphron funestum'' Kohl, 1918 * ''Sceliphron fuscum'' Klug, 1801 * ''Sceliphron intrudens'' (F. Smith, 1858) * ''Sceliphron isaaci'' Jha and Farooqi, 1995 * ''Sceliphron jamaicense'' Fabricius, 1775; Mexico, Caribbean islands * ''Sceliphron javanum'' Lepeletier, 1845 * ''Sceliphron laetum'' (F. Smith, 1856); Australia * ''Sceliphron madraspatanum'' (Johan Christian Fabricius, Fabricius, 1781); Mediterranean * ''Sceliphron murarium'' (F. Smith, 1863) * ''Sceliphron neobilineatum'' Jha and Farooqi, 1995 * ''Sceliphron paraintrudens'' Jha and Farooqi, 1995 * ''Sceliphron pietschmanni'' Kohl, 1918 * ''Sceliphron quartinae'' (Gribodo 1884) * ''Sceliphron rectum'' Kohl, 1918 * ''Sceliphron rufopictum'' (F. Smith, 1856) * ''Sceliphron seistaniensis'' Jha and Farooqi, 1995 * ''Sceliphron shestakovi'' Gussakovskij, 1928 * ''Sceliphron spirifex'' (Linnaeus, 1758); Africa, southern Europe * ''Sceliphron unifasciatum'' (F. Smith, 1860)

References

* Observations on the biology of ''Sceliphron spirifex'' (Linnaeus, 1758) in Romagna, Pezzi G. *

External links

Short discussion on genus ''Sceliphron''.

* [http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?guide=Sphecidae Online guide to eastern North American Sphecidae] Documents how to differentiate ''Sceliphron caementarium'' from other Sphecids __NOTOC__ {{Authority control Sphecidae Apoidea genera Taxa named by Johann Christoph Friedrich Klug

''Sceliphron'' species

See also

References

External links