Workbook

This is a highly diverse group, perhaps best considered genus by genus rather than as a collective. There are some characters they all share – such as normal ocelli & entire inner eye margins – but these features are found in many crabronid genera. The following table highlights features which can help in their identification, with an emphasis on characters that might be visible in field photos.

The vast majority of Australian Miscophini are Australian endemics. Sphodrotes, Larrisson, Larrissa and Auchenophorus are only known from Australia … as are nearly all species in the very large genus Sericophorus!

The following table and images are an aid to genus-level identification of Australian Miscophini.

Nitela or Auchenophorus?

In an attempt to more confidently distinguish Nitela from Auchenophorus, I have collected and summarised the species descriptions on a dedicated page.

Bits & Pieces

A mixed collection of diagrams and verified images. Note that Nitela and Auchenophorus are covered separately (see link, above).

A note on Sericophorus sub-groupings

Some authors separate Sericophorus species into two subgenera: subgenus Sericophorus and subgenus Zoyphidium. At one stage, Zoyphidium was treated as a separate genus but Bohart & Menke (1976) considered the differences “rather tenuous”. Nevertheless, these distinctions may prove useful on a case-by-case basis, particularly where a specimen appears a bit unlike the more ‘typical’ Sericophorus. For that reason, I’ve included several type examples from each subgenus, below. At the very least, these images illustrate some of the variability in overall body shape and colour between species. Note that this is currently the only miscophine genus for which there are type images readily available online (at least, so far as I’ve discovered).

For the images above, click on the link to view the museum holotype images in high resolution. The museum site typically shows both dorsal and lateral views, as well as associated collection information

References

Bohart, R.M. & Menke, A.S. 1976. Sphecid Wasps of the World: A generic revision. University of California Press, Berkeley.

Lomholdt, O.C. 1980. The female Aha evansi Menke, 1977 (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae, Larrinae). Entomologica Scandinavica 11: 241-244

Lomholdt, O. 1983. A revision of Sphodrotes Kohl, 1889 (Hymenoptera, Sphecoidea, Larridae). Steenstrupia 9: 85-116

Menke, A.S. 1977. Aha, a new genus of Australian Sphecidae, and revised key to the world genera of the tribe Miscophini (Hymenoptera, Sphecidae, Larrinae). Polskie Pismo Entomologiczne 47: 671-681

Menke, A.S. 1979. A review of the genus Larrisson Menke (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae). Australian Journal of Zoology 27: 453-463

Pulawski, W.J. 2012. A review of the genus Larrisson Menke, 1967, and description of the new genus Larrissa (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae). Journal of Hymenoptera Research 25: 35-82

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.