HomeWasp classificationExpeditionsLinksFigWebBiodiversity ExplorerPermits

Chalybion spinolae (Lepeletier) (False Mud Dauber)

(Life: Kingdom: Metazoa (animals); Phylum: Arthropoda; Class: Hexapoda; Order: Hymenoptera; Superfamily: Apoidea; Family: Sphecidae; Subfamily: Sceliphrinae; Genus: Chalybion)

Pelopaeus spinolae Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau, 1845. Syntypes in M. Spinola collection (Torino). Type locality: India: Maharashtra: Bombay.

Photograph © Duncan Butchart.
Female  
Prey of above female: False Button spider in the family Theriidiidae, a Steatoda species (determined by Charles Haddad 2015).

Photographs © Simon van Noort (Iziko Museums of South Africa).
Diagnosis Superficially similar to Sceliphron spirifex and related species, such as S. quartinae, but distinguishable by the metallic blue lustre of the body (Sceliphron spirifex has a matt black body) and colour of the femur and tibia of the front and mid legs, which are reddish brown (yellow and black in Sceliphron spirifex). Females are also readily identifiable by the reddish-orange antennae, but males have black antennae like Sceliphron spirifex. The petiole is relatively shorter. The form of the propodeum is distinctive: there is a central longitudinal ridge with a distinct posterior pit. The nest construction for these two species is also very different (see biology below).

Distribution

 Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia.
Chalybion_spinolae_copulating_Ernst_Nel

A Button spider (Latrodectus) as prey (Nel et al 2014). Photographs © Ernst Nel.

Biology

 Females prey on Button spiders (Latrodectus), but also take other members of the family Theriidiidae such as False Button spiders (Steatoda) (see above record). They mass provision single cells in crevices or burrows excavated in exposed vertical soil banks. A single egg is laid on the largest spider. Prior to provisioning with spiders, the nest is lined and the cell constructed with mud collected from a nearby water source. Females use vibrations, produced by their flight mechanism, that are transmitted through the mandibles to assist with application of mud to the inside of the nest. Water may be collected by the female and carried in her crop to be used to initially soften the bank for excavation of the burrow. The nest entrance is sealed with a mud plug laid down by spiral addition of mud pellets. The finished plug is slightly concave. Further nests may then be constructed in close proximity to the first (Gess & Gess 2014).

References

Bohart, R.M. & Menke, A. S. 1976. Sphecid Wasps of the World: a Generic Revision. University of California Press, Berkeley, California.

Brothers D.J. 1999. Phylogeny and evolution of wasps, ants and bees (Hymenoptera, Chrysidoidea, Vespoidea and Apoidea) Zoologica Scripta 28: 233–250.

Finnamore, A.T. & Michener, C.D. 1993. Superfamily Apoidea (pp. 279-357). In GOULET, H. & HUBER, J. (eds). Hymenoptera of the World: an identification guide to families. Research Branch, Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, Canada, 668 pp.

Gess FW 1981. Some aspects of an ethological study of the aculeate wasps and the bees of a karroid area in the vicinity of Grahamstown, South Africa. Annals of the Cape Provincial Museums (natural History) 14: 1-80.

Gess SK, Gess FW 2014. Wasps and bees in southern Africa. SANBI Biodiversity Series 24. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria. 320 pp.

Gess FW, Gess SK 1980, Weaving AJS 1982.Some aspects of the ethology of Chalybion (Hemichalybion) spinolae (Lepeletier) (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae: Sphecinae) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Annals of the Cape Provincial Museums (natural History) 14: 139-149.

Nel, E., Kelly, J. & Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S. 2014. Notes on the biology of the wasp, Chalybion spinolae (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae), an obligatory predator of Latrodectus (Araneae: Theridiidae) spiders in South Africa. Journal of Natural History 48: 1585-1593. DOI:10.1080/00222933.2013.877993.

Links

CATALOG OF WORLD SPHECIDAE sensu lato (= Apoidea excluding bees) compiled by Wojciech J. Pulawski (California Academy of Sciences).

Credits

Photographs © Simon van Noort (Iziko Museums of South Africa).

Photographs of living specimens © Duncan Butchart or Ernst Nel.

Web author Simon van Noort (Iziko South African Museum)

 

Citation: van Noort, S. 2024. WaspWeb: Hymenoptera of the World. URL: www.waspweb.org (accessed on <day/month/year>).

Copyright 2004-2024 Iziko Museums of South Africa

customisable counter