Auplopus carbonarius
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Pompilidae
Genus: Auplopus
Species:
A. carbonarius
Binomial name
Auplopus carbonarius
Synonyms [1]

Pseudagenia carbonaria

Auplopus carbonarius is a spider wasp of the family Pompilidae. Uniquely among the British group it constructs a nest of barrel-shaped cells in which spiders are stored and the larvae develop.

Description

Approximately 10 millimetres (0.39 in) (male 8 mm or 0.31 in) in length, the male is distinguished by the ivory-coloured maculae alongside the eyes.

Biology

The flight period in Great Britain is June to August, during which the females construct a nest of barrel-shaped cells in which spiders are stored and the larvae develop. There can be as many as ten cells in a nest and the prey often has its legs amputated to make it easier to carry either by flight or more often by crawling along the ground.[2]

The nesting behaviour is quite complex compared to most other spider wasps and shows the behavioural versatility of the female wasp. The nests are constructed in pre-existing holes in various situations, with reports citing nests beneath stones, in masonry, in tree stumps (often in old beetle burrows), under bark and in crevices of tree trunks, in empty galls of cynipid wasps, in empty burrows of other invertebrates, including other hymenopteran nests. Females create small, barrel-like cells which are laid sideways. These are constructed from small pellets of mud obtained from damp areas of soil and carried to the nest site. Water is also collected separately to aid nest building. Completed nests may consist of ten or more cells arranged in a block. These cells are then stocked with a wide variety of spider species captured from amongst vegetation. One spider is put in each cell. A. carbonarius may occasionally visit flowers such as spurge.[3]

The most frequent prey consists of spiders in the family Clubionidae, but they have also been recorded taking Gnaphosidae, Salticidae, Agelenidae, Thomisidae, Lycosidae, Segestriidae and Anyphaenidae.[3]

Habitat

Woodland, especially that with water courses and marshy areas which provide wet mud and clay for building nests.[3]

Distribution

Eastern United States,[4] eastern Canada,[5] south eastern England,[6] central Europe and Scandinavia,[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Auplopus carbonarius | NBN Atlas".
  2. ↑ "Nature Conservation Imaging - Page Redirection".
  3. 1 2 3 Robin Edwards (1997). Provisional Atlas of the Aculeate Hymenoptera of Britain and Ireland, Part 1. NERC. ISBN 978-1-870393-39-3.
  4. ↑ Sal Nolfo (1983). "Notes on Auplopus carbonarius, a spider wasp (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) new to the United States". Entomological News. 94 (1): 29–30.
  5. ↑ Matthias Buck (2012). "Two introduced spider wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) new to Canada, with notes on nesting habits and the incidence of introductions (abstract)". Canadian Entomologist. e 137 (3): 278–282.
  6. ↑ "Auplopus carbonarius (Scopoli, 1763)". National Biodiversity Network. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  7. ↑ "Auplopus carbonarius (Scopoli, 1763)". GBIF.org. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
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