Bembicini (BEMBICINAE)
Workbook
I feel I’ve come full circle. It was after observing the summer nesting activities of Austrogorytes two years ago that my adventure with Crabronidae identification really began. Since then I’ve been familiarising myself with the various subfamilies and tribes, but largely ignoring the Bembicini. It’s now time to get back to the sand wasps!
The project will continue for a while, particularly as I attempt species level recognition of some of the larger genera. This particular page should be read in conjunction with the ‘higher order’ summary of the Crabronidae, as well as the more detailed genus-level pages such as Austrogorytes, Ammatomus and Bembecinus.
Australian Bembicini
There are just eight Bembicini genera in Australia, with Bembix by far the most speciose … and also the most commonly sighted. While generally much smaller, Bembecinus is superficially similar to Bembix. Exeirus and Sphecius resemble one another in appearance and in that both are ‘cicada-killers’. The remaining gorytine wasps are less readily sighted. They are uncommon flower visitors, their flight erratic and not particularly noisy. Males of some species can be obvious when roosting in groups, while females are most likely seen when delivering prey to their nest burrows.
click image to open/download latest version as pdf (<200kb)
The images below illustrate some of the features listed in the summary table. I’ve largely used photos of living wasps as these are more representative of the kind of detail that might be seen in field photos. Note too that these are examples only and details will vary between species within a genus – and often even between sexes of the same species.
Eyes, ocelli & other head features
Wing venation, gaster shape & more
Note: for more, general examples of crabronid features see my earlier blog post ‘Sand Wasp Puzzles’.
Beyond genus
The following is a rather eclectic set of pages looking at individual species in isolation, in comparison, or across as an entire genus. These I will be adding to over time.
Bits & pieces
A mixed collection of original descriptions and published illustrations.
References
Bohart, R.M. & Menke, A.S. 1976. Sphecid Wasps of the World: a Generic Revision. Berkeley: Univ. California Press
Evans, H.E. & Matthews, R.W. 1971. Nesting behaviour and larval stages of some Australian Nyssonine sand wasps (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae). Australian Journal of Zoology, 19: 293-310
Evans, H.E. & Matthews, R.W. 1973. Australian Bembix Wasps. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute, Number 20.
Evans, H.E. & O’Neill, K.M. 2007. The Sand Wasps: Natural History and Behaviour. Harvard University Press
Ohl, M. 2002. A new species of the wasp genus Clitemnestra Spinola, 1851 from New Caledonia (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Crabronidae, Bembicinae). Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 49(2) 183-295)
Nemkov, P.G. & Ohl, M. 2011. A cladistic analysis and reclassification of the tribe Bembicini (Hymenoptera: Crabroniae: Bembicinae). Zootaxa 2801: 27-47
Shuckard, W.E. 1838. Descriptions of new exotic aculeate Hymenoptera. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London 2: 68-82 pl. viii
Smith, F. 1856. Catalogue of Hymenopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum. Part IV, Sphegidae, Larridae and Crabronidae. London : British Museum pp. 207-497
This is a workbook page … a part of our website where we record the observations and references used in making species identifications. The notes will not necessarily be complete. They are a record for our own use, but we are happy to share this information with others.