Bembecinus tridens (Fabricius 1781)

Bembecinus tridens is a species of sand wasps belonging to the family Crabronidae.^[1]

Subspecies

• Bembecinus tridens caesius (Compte Sart, 1959)
• Bembecinus tridens tridens (Fabricius, 1781)

Description

Bembecinus tridens can reach a length of 7–11 millimetres (0.28–0.43 in). The body is black and yellow.

Biology

These wasps fly in one generation from early June to late August. The females dig a unicellular nest, though a single female digs 1-8 nests in succession. After an egg is laid in the cell the prey item (various families of Homoptera) is introduced.^[2][3] The species is parasitized by Hedychrum chalybaeum.^[4]

Distribution and habitat

This species can be found from Western Europe and North Africa to Japan and China.^[5] They are common inhabitants of sandy areas.

Bibliography

• Nemkov P. G. (2012). Digger wasps of the genus Bembecinus A. Costa, 1859 (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae, Bembicinae) of the fauna of Russia and neighbouring countries. - Bembecinus A. Costa, 1859 (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae, Bembicinae)). // Far Eastern Entomologist. 2012. N 251. C. 1–11. ISSN 1026-051X
• Rolf Witt: Wespen. Beobachten, Bestimmen. Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1998, ISBN 3-89440-243-1.

References