Sphecid wasp - Sceliphron spirifex ((Linnaeus, 1758) - Σφαλάντζι - Cyprus

 Family Sphecidae

Sceliphron spirifex is a species of sphecid wasp. It has a medium-sized body (17–27 millimetres or 0.7–1.1 inches), which is dull black with a long, yellow petiole (waist). The legs are black with yellow bands, the antennae are black and the wings are clear.

Females build large multi-celled mud nests attached to cliffs, rocks, tree trunks, bridges and buildings. The cells are mass-provisioned with several spiders and sealed with mud, S. spirifex lives in diverse habitats across Africa and Southern Europe, but is strongly associated with buildings and other man-made structures.

 Cyprus - Geri 17/7/2010 Photos George Konstantinou

See also  Asian mud-dauber wasp - Sceliphron curvatum (F. Smith, 1870) - First reported in Cyprus 11/7/2020

Sceliphron spirifex - Larvrae  parasites

See also 

Anthrax sticticus Klug, 1832 - Δίπτερα (Diptera) (fly) - Cyprus

Cuckoo wasps or emerald wasps - Chrysis sp. - Cyprus