''Tiphia femorata'', often known as a beetle-killing wasp or common tiphiid wasp, is a species of wasp belonging to the family

Tiphiidae The Tiphiidae (also known as tiphiid wasps, flower wasps, or tiphiid flower wasps) are a family (biology), family of large, solitary wasps whose larvae are parasitoids of various beetle larvae, especially those in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea. Un ...

, subfamily Tiphiinae.

Subspecies

Subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

include: *'' Tiphia femorata femorata'' Fabricius, 1775 *'' Tiphia femorata vaucheri'' Tournier, 1901 (Belgium, Spain, North Africa)

Distribution and habitat

This species is present in most of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, 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

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

.Fauna europaea
/ref> It mainly inhabits warmer, dry and semi-arid grasslands and meadows.

Description

The adult males grow up to long, while females reach .
/ref> The body is completely black, light haired, and the tibiae and femora of the middle and rear pairs of legs are reddish brown. Rather similar species are ''

Tiphia minuta ''Tiphia minuta '' is a Palearctic 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 ...

'' and '' Tiphia unicolor''.

Biology

It is a

univoltine Voltinism is a term used in biology to indicate the number of broods or generations of an organism in a year. The term is most often applied to insects, and is particularly in use in sericulture, where silkworm varieties vary in their voltinism. ...

species. These wasps can be encountered from June through September feeding on

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

and

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...

of flowers (especially 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). Like most members of Tiphiidae, ''T. femorata'' parasitizes by stinging the

larvae A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect developmental biology, development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typical ...

of various species of

Scarabaeidae The family Scarabaeidae, as currently defined, consists of over 35,000 species of beetles worldwide; they are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family has undergone significant change. Several groups formerly tre ...

, though especially hunts beetles of ''

Amphimallon solstitiale ''Amphimallon solstitiale'', also known as the summer chafer or European june beetle, is a beetle similar to the cockchafer but much smaller, approximately in length. They are declining in numbers now, but where found they are often seen in lar ...

''. The females can smell larvae of beetles in the soil, then they dig up and drop an egg in their victims. The larvae of ''T. femorata'' feed externally on the grubs.

Gallery

Image: Tiphiidae - Tiphia femorata..jpg, Female Image:Tiphia femorata (dkrb)-2.jpg Image:Tiphia femorata (dkrb)-6.jpg, Dead female specimen; wings unfolded, antennae curled

Bibliography

*Allen H. W., Jaynes H. A. (1930). Contribution to the taxonomy of Asiatic wasps of the genus Tiphia (Scoliidae). // Proc. U. S. Nat. Museum, 1930. Vol. 76, N 17. 105 p. *Tsuneki К. (1985). Taxonomic studies of the Japanese species of the genus Tiphia (I). Revision and addition (Hymenoptera, Tiphiidae). // Spec. Publ. Jap. Hymen. Assoc. 1985. N 31. P. 1-90.

References

External links

Insectconsultancy
{{Taxonbar, from=Q310081 Tiphiidae Insects described in 1775 Hymenoptera of Europe Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius