Cuckoo wasps or emerald wasps - Chrysis taczanovskii Radoszkowski, 1876. - Cyprus

Family Chrysididae

Παρασιτική σφυκα του ειδους Cuckoo wasps or emerald wasps - Chrysis taczanovskii Radoszkowski, 1876 της οικογενειας Chrysididae που παρασιτεί κυρίως σε προνύμφες μελισσών και σφηκών. Η συγκεκριμένη εκκολάφτηκε από προνύμφη σφήκας του είδους Asian mud-dauber wasp - Sceliphron curvatum. 

Parasitic wasp of the species Cuckoo wasps or emerald wasps - Chrysis taczanovskii Radoszkowski, 1876 of the family Chrysididae which parasitizes mainly bee and wasp larvae. This one was hatched from a wasp larva of the species - Asian mud-dauber wasp - Sceliphron curvatum - First reported in Cyprus 11/7/2020 and  Sceliphron spirifex  - Σφαλάντζι - Cyprus

Commonly known as cuckoo wasps or emerald wasps, the hymenopteran family Chrysididae is a very large cosmopolitan group (over 3000 described species) of parasitoid or kleptoparasitic wasps, often highly sculptured, with brilliant metallic colors created by structural coloration. They are most diverse in desert regions of the world, as they are typically associated with solitary bee and wasp species, which are also most diverse in such areas.

The term "cuckoo wasp" refers to the cuckoo-like way in which wasps in the family lay eggs in the nests of unrelated host species.

Chrysididae, the scientific name of the family, refers to their shiny bodies and is derived from Greek chrysis, chrysid-, "gold vessel, gold-embroidered dress", plus the familial suffix -idae. The common names of many species pay similar tribute to their appearance: jewel wasp, gold wasp,emerald wasp, ruby wasp and so on (cf. French guêpe de feu, fire-wasp, and German Goldwespe, gold-wasp).

Members of the largest subfamily, Chrysidinae, are the most familiar; they are generally kleptoparasites, laying their eggs in host nests, where their larvae consume the host egg or larva while it is still young, then the food provided by the host for its own juvenile. Chrysidines are distinguished from the members of other subfamilies in that most have flattened or concave lower abdomens and can curl into a defensive ball when attacked by a potential host, in the manner of a pill bug. Members of the other subfamilies are parasitoids, of either sawflies or walking sticks, and cannot fold up into a ball.

Chrysidids are always solitary, and are closely associated with other solitary wasps. They fly mainly in the hottest and driest months of summer, preferring subtropical and Mediterranean climates. They favour dry areas and sandy soils; each species is confined to a narrow type of microhabitat where adults may rest or find hosts to parasitise, for example on bare soil or on dead wood where other solitary wasps have their nest holes. Some species visit flowers such as of the Umbelliferae, Compositae and Euphorbiae. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos at Xyliatos dam 7/2023 by George Konstantinou and Mike Hadjiconstantis

Square-headed wasp - Liris haemorrhoidalis (Fabricius, 1804) - Cyprus

 Family Crabronidae

Liris haemorrhoidalis (Fabricius, 1804) is a species of square-headed wasp in the family Crabronidae. It is found in the Arabian Peninsula: Oman ( Guichard 1980; Roche 2007), Oman / United Arab Emirates ( Hamer 1985), Qatar ( Abdu & Shaumar 1985), Saudi Arabia ( Gadallah & Assery 2004b; Gadallah et al. 2013), United Arab Emirates ( Hamer 1986, 1988; Gillett & Gillett 2005; Howarth & Gillett 2008; Schmid-Egger 2014). Extralimital distribution: Widespread in Africa, Cyprus,  southern Asia to western India and Sri Lanka.

Photos Geri 15/9/2018 by George Konstantinou

Potter wasps - Katamenes dimidiatus (Brullé, 1832) - Cyprus

 Katamenes dimidiatus is a species of Hymenoptera in the family Eumenidae.

Katamenes is a genus of potter wasps with species distributed in Europe, Cyprus and Africa. When originally named by Edmund Meade-Waldo, Katemenes was monotypic, containing only K. watsoni, but other species have since been moved from Eumenes to Katamenes

Photos Geri 2010 by George Konstantinou

Katamenes sp. nest                

                                                    

See also 

Potter wasp - Σφήκες αγγειοπλάστες - Cyprus

Heath Potter wasp nest - Eumenes coarctatus (Linnaeus, 1758)- Family Vespidae - Σφήκες αγγειοπλάστες - Cyprus

 Body length: 9 to 15mm. (with a very narrow 1st abdominal segment).

Season April to mid-October.

The Heath Potter Wasp, is a solitary wasp.

Habitat: Sandy sites preferred, including heathland, wherever water is close by, be it a pond, stream or water logged ditch. Water is needed to bind the clay/mud to construct a pot shaped container for a nest.

After mating, the female will search for a suitable site to build her nest, once found, she will collect water in her mouth parts and clean the area to where she is able to attach the nest. Then she will continue to collect water and will visit an area of dry mud/clay, adding the water, to form a small ball of mud; which is held between her jaws and forelegs. Then flying back and forth to her pre-prepared nesting site, (Usually between 20 to 40 metres away) this procedure is repeated many times, as up to 28 small balls of clay are needed to construct her pot. The construction can take between 2 to 3 hours in favourable weather conditions; sometimes it can take up to several days for her to build, if bad weather conditions persist. When finished, she lays her egg inside, which is suspended by a fine strand of silk from the inside edge of the pot. The egg will take about three days to hatch, this is when the female wasp will then proceed to hunt for moth larvae, (caterpillars); these are paralised with her stinger and placed into the pot, until full. She then collects more water and mud, which is turned into balls, to seal the pot, before leaving the pot, it will undoubtably get several thorough checks. The Eumenes larva will consume the provided prey in about a week, if the pot was built before the mid of August here in Spain, the larva has a chance to pupate immediately and will emerge in 2 to 3 weeks’ time. Any later then there is a chance the full-grown larva will remain unchanged through the winter months and pupate the following spring. If the female has found a favourable nesting site, she will use it again and again, thus by stacking the pots, one on top of the other. This obviously saves her precious time, in seeking new nesting sites.

A female Eumenes coarctatus, will live for about two to three months, with favourable weather conditions, she would have built and provided for, as many as 25 pots in her life span.

Preferred prey collected, consists mainly of small lepidopterous larvae.

From https://www.wildlifenatural.com/Insects-in-Spain/Eumenes-coarctatus/

See also - Potter wasp - Σφήκες αγγειοπλάστες - Cyprus

Photos, Oroklini lake 2015 and Mia milia 10/7/2023 by George Konstantinou

See also 

Potter wasp - Σφήκες αγγειοπλάστες - Cyprus

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

 It was first reported in Cyprus 11/7/2020 by George Konstantinou at Xyliatos dam.

,

Family Sphecidae

Sceliphron curvatum, also known as the Asian mud-dauber wasp, is an insect in the genus Sceliphron of the wasp family Sphecidae. Like all wasps of this genus, it is a solitary species and builds nests out of mud. S. curvatum is native to some regions of Asia and invasive to Europe.

Sceliphron curvatum is 15 to 25 millimetres (0.6 to 1.0 in) long and is coloured black with yellow and red ornaments. It builds nests of mud on the walls of buildings, but also very often indoors on piles of books, clothes or pieces of furniture. Every nest is filled with paralyzed spiders, which serve as food for the larvae. Like all Sceliphron species, S. curvatum is not aggressive unless threatened.

Formerly, the species was distributed in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Tadjikistan in submontaneous regions at the highest mountain ranges of the world: Himalayas, Karakoram and Pami. It was first recorded in Europe in 1979, when a female was collected near the village of Grätsch in southeastern Austria. It is assumed that S. curvatum was introduced to Europe as a result of human activity, but after that the species has been spreading throughout Europe on its own. S. curvatum has been quickly enlarging its range, forming mighty populations in anthropogenous localities (towns, villages) in southern and central Europe. Since 1979 the species has expanded to several other European countries: Slovenia, Italy, Croatia, Switzerland, France, Hungary, Germany, Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Spain, Slovakia, Ukraine, Portugal, Poland, Romania аnd Bulgaria.

It has spread to North America. It was first reported in 2013, and it has spread to several states

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

See also  Sceliphron spirifex ((Linnaeus, 1758) - Σφαλάντζι - Cyprus

Photos and video at Xyliatos dam 7/2023 by George Konstantinou and Mike Hadjiconstantis

                                                Sceliphron  curvatum - Larvrae  parasites

See also 

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

Cuckoo wasps or emerald wasps - Chrysis sp. - Cyprus