Bembix olba, B. wilcannia & the like — Life in a Southern Forest

Workbook

cover image courtesy Kerry Stuart
iNaturalist observation 342858697

Following several iNaturalist observations of colourful Bembix, I was prompted to look a bit more closely at the differences between some of the candidate species. In particular, Bembix olba, B. aureofasciata, and B. wilcannia. All are extensively marked with orange, and they share many structural features.

Click image to open/download latest version as pdf (<100kb)

Special thanks to Dr Ben Parslow from SAMA for providing these images of type specimens:

B. olba (male, holotype)

B. wilcannia (female, paratype)

Relevant extracts from Evans & Matthews (1973)

key to males (p. 19)

key to females (p. 31)

B. aureofasciata (pp. 130-1)

B. aureofasciata & B. olba (+ map B. wilcannia) (pp. 132-3)

B. olba & B. wilcannia (pp. 134-5)

B. wilcannia (pp. 136-7)

B. wilcannia (female) (Fig. 1)

front tarsi (females) (Figs. 48-59)

front tarsi (females) (Figs. 60-71)

front tarsi (males) (Figs. 86-93)

male antennae (Figs. 136-155)

middle tibia & basitarsi (males) (Figs. 176-193)

middle femora (males) (Figs. 212-241)

B. aureofasciata (Map 11)

Reference

Evans, H.E. & Matthews, R.W. 1973. Systematics and Nesting Behavior of Australian Bembix Sand Wasps. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute, Number 20.

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.