Official name:
Synonyms:
Pamphredon lugubris [1]
Pemphredon pacifica (Gussakovskij 1932)
Pemphredon pacificus (Gussakovskij 1932)
see more on: www.gbif.org
Etymology:
lugubris
Latin: mourning
CONTENTS
1. Distribution
2. Behaviour
3. Plant relations
4. Prey relations
5. Parasitic relations
6. Identification
1. DISTRIBUTION
Pemphredon lugubris is a common wasp [2] that occurs throughout the Netherlands [3].
2. BEHAVIOUR
2.1. ACTIVITY
The species is active from the beginning of May to the beginning of November [3]. There are two generations per year [3,14], in the beginning of summer and autumn [14, 21].
2.2. DEVELOPMENT
Nest
The femals gnaw nests in decaying wood and use natural tubes like plantstemms or abandoned beetle tunnels [4,5,12,14]. Also wooden poles may be used [4].
Branched tunnels with a diameter of 4-5 mm are gnawed in wood [14]. The branches will include blind cells that are filled with wood pulp that may be used later on to fill up the main corridor [5].
Sometimes a gall is used in which the length of the tunnel is determined by the size of the fall [5].
The species sometimes tries to use the nest of Ectemnius cavifrons but are usually scared off. Should that not be the case she will use the main corridor as a starting point to gnaw her own branched off tunnels [3,5].
The broodcells in the plantstemms are constructed in a sequwntial row [14].
In all media wthe broodcells are separated with a 1-2mm thick wall of woodpulp [5].
Every broodcell contains 40 aphids [5,12]. When the cell is fully provisioned one egg is lain on an aphid in the middle or back of the broodcell [5].
The eggs develop in three to five days [21]. The larva develops in about two week into the pre-pupal stage [21]. The second generatin will overwinter as pre-pupa, the first generation will transform into the pupal stage shortly [21]. This phase lasts about three weeks and then the adult appears [21].
2.3. BEE HOTEL
Females can be seen on bee hotels where they collect nesting materials [17].
Nestblocks in good condition are not suitable for nesting as the females only tunnel in decaying wood which is softer. Possibly offering bamboo stemms or tubes out of other plant stemms that still contain the marrow, as part of artificial nesting may increase chances for the species to use the bee hotel.
My own observations of the species include a female P. lugubris on the bee hotel section II nestblock 10 filled with bamboo and Hemp agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum) stemms.
Also I’ve noticed that nest blocks that are old and deteriorating become more interesting for tunneling digger wasps. Possibly Pemphredon will start to use this wood as well [17].
I’ve not seen any males on the bee hotel. Also the literature does not mention this.
2.4. MATING
My own observations include the species mating on Common dogwood (Cornus sanguinea). The males were continuesly present in and around the plant. Every now and then a female would approach that was immediately approached after landing, see here.
2.5. HUNTING
Caught prey are paralized by bites in the neck region [12,16]. As far as known all members of the subfamily Pemphredoninae, almost all aphid hunters, do not use the stinger [12,16].
The poison of P. lugubris is capable in paralysing a prey incomplete permanently [16].
The prey is transported to the nest using the mandibles [4,12].
3. PLANT RELATIONS
3.1. WOOD TYPES
The following wood types are mentioned in literature as medium for the wasp to built her nests in:
| Adoxaceae (Moschatel family) | Sambucus (Elder) [4,20(Pemphredon ssp.)] |
| Anacardiaceae (Sumac family) | Rhus (Sumac) [20(Pemphredon ssp.)] |
| Asteraceae [5] (Composite family) | Artemisia [4] |
| Malvaceae (Mallows) | Hibiscus [5] |
| Oleaceae (Olive family) | Fraxinus (Ash) [20(Pemphredon ssp.)] |
| Rosaceae (Rose family) | Rosa (Rose) [20(Pemphredon ssp.)] Rubus (Blackberries) [4,20(Pemphredon ssp.)] |
| Simaroubaceae | Ailanthus [4] |
3.2. FOOD PLANTS
The following wood types are mentioned in literature as foodsources:
| Adoxaceae (Moschatel family) | Sambucus (Elder) [14] |
| Apiaceae [5] (Umbellifers) | |
| Asteraceae [5] (Composite family) |
The wasp also lick honeydew of leaves [14].
Garden species
In the garden some umbellifers are present but I have not observed the species on it.
| Apicaceae [5] (Schermbloemenfamilie) | Foeniculum – Foeniculum vulgare (Fennel) Pastinaca – Pastinaca sativa (Parsnip) |
| Asteraceae [5] (Composietenfamilie) | Anthemis – Anthemis tinctoria (Yellow chamomile) Cichorium – Cichorium intibus (Common cichory) Solidago – Solidago gigantea (Giant goldenrod) Tanacetum – Tanacetum vulgare (Tansy) Taraxacum – Taraxacum officinale (Common dandelion) |
3.3. PREY PLANTS
Pemphredon finds her prey on their food plants.
The following plants are mentioned in literature:
| Caryophyllaceae (Carnation family) | Stellaria – Stellaria media [15] |
Garden species
The garden does not contain Caryophyllaceae.
4. PREY RELATIONS
The species uses only larger [5,12] aphids (Aphidoidea) for her brood [3,4,5,9,12,13,14]. She is not picky and will use whatever aphid species is present [4].
Sometimes an adult will eat of a caught aphid without transporting it to the nest [4].
The following species and group occurring in the Netherlands [1] are mentioned in literature:
| Aphidoidea (Aphids) [3,9] | Aphis – Aphis sumbuci (Elder aphid) [5,12] Brachycaudus – Brachycaudus prunicola (Black peach aphid) [5 (as Anuraphis persicae)] Lachnus – Lachnus pallipes [16] Myzus – Myzus cerasi (Black cherry aphid) [5] |
Garden species
None of the prey species have been observed yet in the garden.
5. PARASITIC RELATIONS
The following species and group occuring in the Netherlands [1] are mentioned in literature:
| Hymenoptera (Wasps) | Chrysididae (Cuckoo wasps) Elampus – Elampus constrictus [4(as Omalus constrictus)] Omalus* – Omalus aeneus [5,8] Philoctetes – Philoctetes truncatus [3] Pseudomalus* – Pseudomalus auratus [4,8][14(as Ellampus auratus)] ➡︎ brood idiobiont ectoparasitoid (eats food stock and larva) [14] – Pseudomalus triangulifer [8,13] – Pseudomalus violaceus [3,8,13][4(as Omalus violaceus)] Ichneumonidae (Sluipwespen) Perithous – Perithous divinator [3,4,5] – Perithous scurra [3,5(as P.mediator)] – Perithous septemcinctorius [6,7] |
| Diptera (Flies) | Sarcophagidae Amobia – Amobia signata [18] |
6. IDENTIFICATION
Length males: 7,5 – 10 mm
Length females: 10 – 11,5 mm
Genus
The genus Pemphredon can be identified using the following characters:
1. Forewing: with two submarginal cells [9,10,11]
2. Forewing: with two discoidal cells [9,10,11]
3. Forewing: pterostigma smaller than marginal cell [9,10,11]
4. Thorax: pronotum not enlarged, sides do not reach tegula [9,10,11]
5. Thorax: notauli do not reach back edge mesonotum [9,10,11]
6. Abdomen: front first abdominal segment petiolate [9,10,11]
specimen caught for photo identification on 09-x-2021, length ±13mm
- Antenna with 12 segments [9,10,11]
2. Abdomen with 6 segments [9,10,11]
3. Clypeus with few silver hairs [10,11]
4. Tergite 6 with pygidium [9,10,11]
HEAD
1. Clypeus: frontal edge straight [10,11] ([KLEIN]: rounded [9])
2. No lump between the antennal implants [9,10,11]
3. Antennal segment 3 about 2,4-3x as long as wide [9,10,11]
THORAX
1. Forewing: second discoidal transverse vein joins submarginalcell 2 [9,(10),11]
2. Side thorax (mesopleuron): with transverse wrinkled structure in front of middle coxa [9,10,11]
3. Propodeum: edge dorsal field unclearly limited [9,11], narrow, with structure [10,11] and matt [10]
ABDOMEN
1. Petiolus: longer than half of tergite 1 [10], longer than half-length postpetiolus [11], long and slender [9]
2. Pygidium long and narrow [9,10,11], not keel shaped [10]
specimen caught for photo identification on 30-v-2021, length ±9mm
- Antenna with 13 segments [9,10,11]
2. Clypeus: with silver hairs [10,11]
3. Tergite 7 without pygidium [9,10,11]
HEAD
1. Clypeus edge [11]
2. No lump between the antennal implants [(9),10,11]
3. Antennal members 5 – 9 with tyloids [9,10,11]
THORAX
1. Middle tarsal segment 1 apically almost straight [10,11]
2. Side thorax (mesopleuron): with clear transverse wrinkled structure in front of middle coxa [9,10,11]
ABDOMEN
- Petiolus: longer than tergite 1 [10] (postpetiolus [11]), long and slender [9]
References
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