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Bembecinus Costa

(Life: Kingdom: Metazoa (animals); Phylum: Arthropoda; Class: Hexapoda; Order: Hymenoptera; Superfamily: Apoidea; Family: Bembicidae; Subfamily: Bembicinae)

Bembecinus Costa, 1859
 

Bembecinus aemulus (Handlirsch, 1895) (South Africa)

Bembecinus angustifrons (Arnold, 1940) (Zimbabwe)

Bembecinus argentifrons (Smith, 1856) (Kenya, South Africa, Zaire)

Bembecinus assentator (Arnold, 1945) (Madagascar)

Bembecinus atratus (Arnold, 1936) (South Africa)

Bembecinus bidens (Arnold, 1933) (Ethiopia)

Bembecinus boer (Handlirsch, 1900) (South Africa)

Bembecinus brooksi Bohart, 1997 (Madagascar)

Bembecinus buyssoni (Arnold, 1929) (Zimbabwe)

Bembecinus caffer (de Saussure, 1854) (South Africa, Zambia)

Bembecinus chilwae Bohart, 1997 (Malawi)

Bembecinus chirindensis (Arnold, 1936) (Zimbabwe)

Bembecinus cinguliger (Smith, 1856) (South Africa)

Bembecinus corpulentus (Arnold, 1929) (Ethiopia)

Bembecinus damarensis Gess & Pulawski, 2015 (Namibia, South Africa)

Bembecinus dentiventris (Handlirsch, 1895) (South Africa)

Bembecinus distinctus (Arnold, 1955) (Namibia)

Bembecinus dubiousus (Guiglia, 1941) (Ethiopia)

Bembecinus flavopictus (Arnold, 1936) (Namibia)

Bembecinus fraterculus (Arnold, 1929) (Zimbabwe)

Bembecinus gariepensis Gess and Pulawski, 2015

Bembecinus gilvus Bohart, 1997 (Namibia, South Africa)

Bembecinus haemorrhoidalis (Handlirsch, 1900) (South Africa)

Bembecinus haplocerus (Handlirsch, 1895) (South Africa)

Bembecinus helicicola Pulawski, 2015 (South Africa)

Bembecinus herbsti (Arnold, 1929) (South Africa)

Bembecinus hirtiusculis (Arnold, 1945) (Madagascar)

Bembecinus hoplites (Handlirsch, 1892) (South Africa)

Bembecinus hoplites minor (Arnold, 1929) (South Africa)

Bembecinus hyperocrus (Arnold, 1929) (Namibia, South Africa)

Bembecinus inexspectatus Pulawski, 2015 (South Africa)

Bembecinus irwini Bohart, 1997 (Namibia)

Bembecinus jacksoni (Arnold, 1955) (Kenya)

Bembecinus kachelibae (Arnold, 1960) (Kenya)

Bembecinus karasanus Gess and Pulawski, 2015 (Namibia, South Africa)

Bembecinus karooensis (Arnold, 1936) (South Africa)

Bembecinus kobrowi (Arnold, 1936) (South Africa)

Bembecinus laterimacula (Handlirsch, 1895) (South Africa)

Bembecinus laticaudatus (Arnold, 1929) (South Africa)

Bembecinus laticinctus (Arnold, 1929) (South Africa)

Bembecinus lomii (Guiglia, 1945) (Ethiopia)

Bembecinus maior (Handlirsch, 1895) (South Africa)

Bembecinus mirus (Arnold, 1945) (Madagascar)

Bembecinus mitulus (Arnold, 1929) (South Africa)

Bembecinus monodon (Handlirsch, 1895) (South Africa)

Bembecinus mutabilis (Arnold, 1929) (South Africa)

Bembecinus namaquensis Pulawski, 2015 (South Africa)

Bembecinus namibius Pulawski, 2015 (Namibia)

Bembecinus namibicus Bohart, 1997 (Namibia)

Bembecinus nemoralis (Arnold, 1960) (Zimbabwe)

Bembecinus nyasae (Turner, 1912) (Zambia)

Bembecinus oxydorcus (Handlirsch, 1900) (South Africa)

Bembecinus omaruru Pulawski, 2015 (Namibia)

Bembecinus pakhuisae Bohart, 1997 (South Africa)

Bembecinus polychromus (Handlirsch, 1895) (South Africa)

Bembecinus proteus (Arnold, 1929) (Zimbabwe)

Bembecinus quadristrigatus (Arnold, 1929) (Angola, Namibia, South Africa)
 

Bembecinus rectilateralis (Arnold, 1945) (Madagascar)

Bembecinus rhopaloceroides (Arnold, 1929) (Namibia, South Africa)

Bembecinus rhopalocerus (Handlirsch, 1895) (Namibia, South Africa)

Bembecinus rozenorum Bohart, 1997 (Namibia)

Bembecinus sipapomae (Arnold, 1929) (Zimbabwe)

Bembecinus solitarius (Arnold, 1936) (South Africa)

Bembecinus somalicus Arnold, 1940 (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania)
 

Bembecinus spinicornis (de Saussure, 1887) (Madagascar)

Bembecinus stevensoni Arnold, 1936 (Zimbabwe)
 

Bembecinus wenzeli Bohart, 1997 (Madagascar)

Bembecinus witzenbergensis (Arnold, 1929) (South Africa)

Bembecinus zebratus Bohart, 1997 (South Africa)

Distribution

 Worldwide.

Biology

 Females excavate burrows in hard or sandy soil, often in large colonies. Females progressively feed their developing larvae with leafhoppers and other Homoptera (Hemiptera) (Bohart & Menke, 1976). Some species use sand-filled or empty snail shells as nesting sites (Gess & Gess, 1999; Gess & Gess, 2008).

References

Bohart, R.M. 1997. Notes on Bembecinus of southern Africa, Madagascar, and Australia with descriptions of new species (Hymenoptera, Sphecidae, Nyssoninae, Stizini). Journal of Hymenoptera Research 6: 163-177.

Bohart, R.M. & Menke, A. S. 1976. Sphecid Wasps of the World: a Generic Revision. University of California Press, Berkeley, California. 695 pp.

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, S.K. & Gess, F.W. 1999. The use by wasps, bees and spiders of shells of Trigonephrus Pilsb.(Mollusca: Gasteropoda: Dorcasiidae) in the desertic winter rainfall areas of southern Africa. Journal of Arid Environments 43: 143‑153.

Gess, S.K. & Gess, F.W. 2003. A catalogue of flower visiting records for aculeate wasps and bees in the semi-arid to arid areas of southern Africa. Grahamstown: Albany Museum. 529pp.

Gess, S.K. & Gess, F.W. 2008. Patterns of usage of snail shells for nesting by wasps (Vespidae: Masarinae and Eumeninae) and bees (Megachilidae: Megachilinae) in southern Africa. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 17(1): 86 – 109.

Gess, S.K. & Gess, F.W. 2014. Wasps and bees in southern Africa. SANBI Biodiversity Series 24. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria. 320 pp.

Gess FW, Pulawski, WJ, Gess, SK. 2015. A Revision of the rhopalocerus Species Group of Bembecinus Costa (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae: Bembicinae). Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 62: 207-256.

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).

Web author Simon van Noort (Iziko South African Museum)

 

Citation: van Noort, S. 2025. WaspWeb: Hymenoptera of the World. URL: www.waspweb.org (accessed on <day/month/year>).

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