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Stizus species

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

Stizus species. Locality: Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa.

 

Classification

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa.

Photographs © Elaine Kruer.

 

Distribution

South Africa.

Biology

Solitary predatory wasps, provisioning nest with paralyzed prey for consumption by the larvae. Females excavate burrows in sandy soil. One to several cells are provisioned with mantids or grasshoppers. For further details on nest situation, nest structure, method of nest construction, prey provisioning and oviposition, life history, sleeping and associated organisms see 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, S.K. & Gess, F.W. 2014. Wasps and bees in southern Africa. SANBI Biodiversity Series 24. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria. 320 pp.

Links

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

Credits

Photographs © Elaine Kruer.

Map illustration © 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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