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Belonogaster species

(Life: Kingdom: Metazoa (animals); Phylum: Arthropoda; Class: Hexapoda; Order: Hymenoptera; Superfamily: Vespoidea; Family: Vespidae; Subfamily: Polistinae; Genus: Belonogaster)
Belonogaster_species_chewing_caterpillar_Vida_van_der_Walt_Pretoria

Belonogaster species masticating a chewed up caterpillar prior to feeding it to her offspring in her communal paper nest. Photographed by Vida van der Walt in Pretoria Botanical Gardens in 2010.

Distribution

South Africa, Pretoria.

Biology

 Social, constructing communal paper nests. Larvae are fed on chewed-up, soft-bodied insects such as caterpillars.

Reference

Richards, O.W. 1982. A revision of the genus Belonogaster de Saussure (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Bull. Br. Mus. nat. Hist. (Ent.)  Vol 44: 31-114.

Credits

Page developed by Nicole Larsen.

Photographs © Vida van der Walt (Pretoria).

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>).

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