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1-12-1894
The Habits of the Aculeate Hymenoptera. III
William H. Ashmead
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Recommended Citation Ashmead, William H., "The Habits of the Aculeate Hymenoptera. III" (1894). An. Paper 59. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/bee_lab_an/59
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THE HABITS OF THE.ACULEATE HYMENOPTERA.-III.
BY WILLIAM H. ASHMEAD, WASHINGTON, D. C.
Family V. MELLINIDAE. This to 'vValckenaer, forms its nest in foot family (if we can call it a family) is paths, and other situations exposed to represented in our fauna by one genus the sun, to the depth of five inches, but with three species, and as these are in a tortuous direction, provisioning exceedingly rare, no observations on any them with different species of Halictus, of them have been made. Westwood, four being requisite for the food supply however, ha_s observed the European of one larva. 11//elli'mts arvensis burrowing in sand In the Trans. ent. soc. Lond. i, p. banks, and Shuckard states the species 203, Westwood gives an interesting preys upon Diptera. Kirby and Spence account of the habits of Cerceri's also say it selects the smaller flies, arenari'us Linn. which forms a burrow including the troublesome Stomoxys in the sand and provisions it with a caldtrans. species of Cuculionid ( Strophosomus) Famz'ly VI. MrMESIDAE. In this which it carries in flight by means of family we have 1 7 described species, its four fore legs, its hind legs being distributed in two genera; the habits of extended. Other short-snouted weevils none of them seem to be known. are also employed, such as Pachygas According to Shuckard, the species ter picipes, rancztss, etc. According belonging to the genus Psen Latr. to Latreille, Cerceris aztrz'ta employs nidificate in sand; whereas, those of Lz'xzts ascanu and other weevils. iWhnesa Shuck., according to West Westwood also mentions a cocoon of wood, appear to be wood-burrowers one of these species covered with and provision their cells with the larvae clebris of a multitude of a species of of different species of Homopterous Chrysis, which he considered had insects. probably served for food of the larva of Family VII. PHILANTHIDAE. This one of these insects; while Packard, in family is well represented in our fauna, his Guide, states that "Dufour unearthed by no less than seventy-five species, in a single field thirty nests of C. distributed in four genera. bztpresticida which were filled with 'vVestwood, whom I have drawn upon ten species of Bupre tis, comprising for many of the facts recorded in this four hundred individual , and none of paper, states that the species belonging any other genus; also that C. tuberc1t to the genus Cerceris Latr. show lata provisions its nest with Leuco considerable diversity in habits. The somus ophthalmz'c1-ts, and C. trz'dncta economy of Ce;cerz's ornata, according with Clythra." 60 PSYCHE. rApril 18 I can find nothing publishell on any The genus Gorytes Latr. seems to American species; but Mr. H. G. Hub confine its attacks to Homopterous bard tells me that while a student at the insects belonging to the family Cercep Cambridge museum, some years ago, idae. Westwood says:- he observed a species provisioning its In June, 1837, I observed the femaie of the acorn weevil Balaninus cells with Gorytes mystacetts e ngaged in protruding nasicus Say; that specimens were given her legs and sting into a patch of the frothy to Dr. Hagen and will be found in secretion caused by the larva of Aphrophora the Museum collection. From Mr. sjmmaria, without, however, being able to Hubba rd's verbal description I think dislodge the occupant. Subsequently I saw occupied with a drop of water, this insect may be Cerceris venator it similarly evidently mistaken for the froth, but unsuc Cr. cessfully; but I shortly afterwards observed it Cerceris fumipennis Say provisions with a larva of this insect, which it carried be its cells with Cltrysobothrz"s deutipes, neath its body by the help of its middle legs. according to observations made by Mr. Mr. Shuckard has a lso captured it, as well ( = G. campestris St. Hubbard. as his G. Fa,-geii Farg. ?) with a similar prey. The genus Ph£lanthus Fabr. preys upon bees. Latreille who first dis The genus Nysson Latr. is said to covered· the habits of a species in this nest in sand, but its prey has not been " genus ( Hist. nat. fourmis, p. 307) observed. found that Phz"lanthus triangulum Famz"ly IX. B EMBECIDAE. This Fabr. dug burrows in hot sandy situa family comprises some of the largest tions and provisions its nest with and most showy of our fossorial wasps, honey-bees; a single bee being suffi no less than twenty-four species, dis cient food supply for rearing a single tributed in nine genera, being known to wasp. The genus is poorly repre occur in the United States. sented in Europe; but in this country The genus Sphccizts D ahlh. com we have many described species. prise the giants of the family, which Although so well represented, not a as a boy, were known to me under the single note seems to have been pub name of Q.!1een Hornets, and I really lished concerning the habits of any believed them to be Q_u eens of the species. yellow-jackets. Although it has been In the south I have observed Phz"l known for years that our largest species, anthus punctatus Say preying upon Sphecius speciosus Drury, formed its Halz"ctus disparalis Cr. and other burrows in the ground and provisioned small Halicti. them with Cicadas, storing them with Family VIII. NvssoNIDAE. Al Cz"cada dorsata, C. tibicens and C. though this family is represented in margz"nata, it was not until last year, our fauna by 8 genera and 56 species, in the publication of Dr. C. V. Riley's not a word has been published con admirable article entitled "The larger cerning the habits of a single species. digger-wasp" in Insect life, vol. 1v, p. April 18<)4.] PSYCHE. 61 248, that we had any information in Here it will be well to quote from detail of its habits, burrow, and John Bartram's paper "On the yellow development. wasp of Pennsylvania" published in Dr. Riley is justly noted for the 1763 (Phil. trans., vol. 53 (1763), pp. tkoroughness of all of his entomologi 37-39), as I believe he has reference to cal work, but in this paper, we have a a Bembecid. He says:- model of just how the biology of our I saw several of these wasps flying about a bees and wasps should be worked out; heap of sandy loam: they settled on it and and r hope others will imitate it in very nibly scratched away the sand with their working up the habits and development fore feet, to find their nests whilst they held a large fly under their wings with one of of other of our bees and wasps. feet; they crept with it into the hole that given In this article Dr. Riley has lead to the nest and staid there about three very thoroughly the entire life history minutes, when they came out. With their of this interesting wasp, illustrating the hind feet, they threw the sand so dexterously same with most beauti.ful figures, the over the hole, as not to be discovered; then more flies, wasp with its prey, a diagram of its taking flight, soon returned with settled down, uncovered the hole, and entered the position of egg attached burrows, with their prey. to the Cicada, the larva, pupa, larva This extraordinary operation raised my forming its cocoon, and the cocoon curiosity to try and find the entrance, but itself. I do not quote from it, as it is the sand fell in so fast that I was pre readily accessible and should be read vented, until by repeated essays I was so one. It was six inches in by all to be thoroughly appreciated. lucky as to find the ground, and at the farther end lay ·a no other of our Bern- The habits of lar~e magot, nea rly an inch long, thick as a becids seem to have been worked out in small goose-quill, with several flies near it, detail. In Florida I have observed and the remains of many more. These Monedula carolina preying upon the flies are provided for the magot to feed on large horse-fly Tabanus atratus, so before it changes into the nymph state: then it eats no more until it attains to a troublesome to horses and cattle in the perfect wasp. South. A singular peculiarity of this insect is its ability to fly backwards in It will be seen on reading the account front of a moving horse while watching of the habits of the European B. ros the opportunity to suddenly bounce tratrr that this statement of John upon and seize one of these flies. Bartram's, made one hundred and Mr. D. W. Coquillett tells me that twenty-eight years ago, is now con while in California he has frequently firmed. obsen·ed Bembex fasciata Fabr. storing The European Bembex 1-ostrata lias its nests with Eristalis tenax, while been ve ry thoroughly worked out by 1\fr. Bembex obsoleta Say employs flies C. Wesenberg, in a paper in the Danish belonging to the genera Musca, Lucilia, language, entitled ''Bembex rostrata; Sarcophaga and Psilocephala. ' its life and instincts," publi hed in the 62 PSYCHE. [ April 1894. Copenhagen Entomologiske 1'rledclelel flies, the flies brought being larger and ser, vol. 3, r89r. larger as the larva grows. ·with a larva not As a familiarity with the Danish quite grown he found 4 Eristalis, 6 Syrphus, 2 Musca, and 3 Anthomyia flies. language is not one of my accomplish The fully grown larva was of a greyish ments, I am indebted to Mr. Martin white color 2½ centimeters long, with the Linell for a translation of some of the segments behind the head gradually expanded more important portions; and as Mr. to the last segment. vVesenberg has discovered many new Fabre took a young larva, fed it on flie s, and before pupating it had devoured 82 flies. and important facts in regard to the He also says that 50 Bembecids will nest life history of this species, in many on a spot as big as a room, during a period respects totally at variance with the of three months, the period for the develop habits of al l other fossorial wasps whose ment of each larva being two weeks. Thi habits have been investigated, I feel will allow only five or six young ones for sure a resume of them here will be the sea on. But does each female have more than one nest? If so, how can it remember hy my readers. appreciated them? Mr. Wese,,berg then tells how the It makes its cell two or three inches deep larva form~ its cocoon, quoting from Fabre, in solid sand covering it up with loose sand and follow with some remarks about the and generally also with a little flat stone to circle of small holes about the middle over pre,·ent parasites from gaining access to the looked by Fabre. larva. The cell measures one cubic! inch, A s Dr. Riley has cal led special attention the entrance tunnel being one and a half to similar holes in the cocoon made by centimeters long and arcuate. A cell con Sphecitts sj>eciosits without satisfactorily tains four or five fresh flies (Lucilia, Eris explaining the reason for them, I give below talis, etc.) and turn olf wings, sucked out what \Vesenberg says about the formation thoraces, etc., and in the middle of these a of the cocoon and the reason for the exist big flat larva. ence of these holes. All other digger-wasp furnish the food The larva spins its cocoon thus: It first for their young once for all, either first lay pushes all the remnants of food into a corner ing their egg, then putting in food, or first of its cell, spins fine white silk threads to all filling up the cell with food, then laying the wall s, makes a net of pure silk supported their egg on it, and covering the whole with by these threads, closed and tapering at one out again visiting their cell or seeing their end but kept open at the other end by threads larva. Such, however, is not the case with to the walls of the cell. Then the larva pro Bembe.~ rostrata, for juH a soon as the trudes its head and scrapes sand from the larva has hatched, the female makes visits wall; when it has a lump large enough it to it several times a day bringing each time bring it by the mouth into its net and dis a fresh fly for it larva. tributes the sand-grains uniformly over the Bembex, according to \Vesenberg, lacks inside with si lk as cement. The outer side the power of paralyzing its prey and all the is then prepared with still greater care. flies are dead and show deep marks on the Sand-grain after sand-grain is carried out thorax just above the tegulae, made by and glued on, until the white silk cocoon is strong jaw of the wasp. tran formed into a dark brown sand cocoon. In two cases, he found the eggs laid on a The and lump is now used up, but still the single fly Pollenia. When the larva is cocoon is lacking a cover. A new lump of hatched the mother brings more and more sand is now scraped together, taken inside 63 April 1894.J PSrCHE. and the larva spins the cover of fine silk, European Tachytes pompiliformis Pz., dresses it with sand and then pins over the according to Shuckard, provisions its whole inside of its cocoon with a layer of cells with small; Lepidopterous larvae thin fine silk so as not to scratch its fine which is : contrary to what has been skin. A circle indicates where the cover is observed of the species in America. fastened on. The cover loosens at this circle when the Bembex is ready to crawl out. Mr. Wm. H . Patton, in Ent. news, This cocoon is water-tight. The larva vol. 3, p . 90, states that Taclzytes changes skin after closing up its cocoon, mandibularis :t_ Pttn. is common at becomes smaller and smaller and turns Hartford, Ct., "forming hillocks three head bends down undt:r the yellow, the or four inches in height and the same thorax and it then hibernates. upon the sidewalks Fabre has overlooked that the cocoon has in breadth of base, about its middle a circle of 8 or 10 small and lawns about September first. It holes and correspondingly on the inside as stores up Xiphidium for its brood." many small silk pads as covers. Under Mr. D. W. Goqu i llett tells me 111 neath these pads are fine pits with elegantly California he has observed Tachytes polished sides, the bottom of these pits rzifofasciatus Cr. storing its cells with being perforated by a very minute hole that from the outside looks like a black puncture. young grasshoppers Melanoj>lus cyan Directly under the bottom is the dark brown zpes; while Tachytes harpax preys sand cocoon. upon Xiphidium brevipenne. \Vhat role have these communications Dr. Riley, in Rep. U.S. ent. comm., state? played during the larval vol. i, p. 3 r 7, states that Larra Mr. Wesenberg's explanation is that when Cr. is reported to the larva has closed its cell it goes into a (Larroda) semirz~fa pseudo-pupa stage, and that within its body capture young Melanoplus spretus; there still remains some particles of undi while according to his MS . notes gested food, which require air and oxygen Larra terminata preys upon Chorto for digestion, and that these holes are made phaga viridifasciata. ely by the larva for admitting air, purpos In the south, I have seen Larra and just before the final papal stage it closes with a them up, before pinning the silken pupal argentata provision its cells covering. small immature cricket, which it com pletely paralyzes before storing away Family X. LARRIDAE. This is in its clay cell. From a single cell, I another family of digger-wasps, but have taken as many as six of the small with the species much more numerous crickets. although not so showy or highly Mr. Patton (I. c. supra) says that colored as those in the preceding Lyroda subita Say "is peculiar for its family. Several genera and between non-fossorial tarsi ; and its method of 60 and 70 species are known in our carrying Nemobius, which it catches fauna. to feed its young is interesting. It The genus Tachytes Panzer com holds the cricket by clasping the base prise most of the larger forms. The of the antennae between its mandibles 64 PSYCHE. [April 1894. and clypeus, the minute teeth here The holes were four to six inches deep. preventing the antennae from slipping In beginning its hole the wasp dragged away with -this explains the use of the teeth on its teeth a stone one half as large as itself to a distance of eight inches from the clypeus." hole, while it pushed away others with its The species in the genus Astata head. In beginning its burrow it used its Latr. prey upon Homopterous insect? large and powerful jaws almost entirely, dig belonging to the Pentatomidae. The ging to the depth of an inch in five minute , European Astata boops Sehr. preys completing its hole in about half an hour. After having inserted its head into the hole, upon the nymphs of Pi'cromerus bidens where it loosened the earth with its jaws and Linn., Palomena virz'dessima Poda fore legs, it would retreat backward~ and pu h and P. d£ssz'm£l£s Fabr., while in Cali the dirt still farther back from the mouth of fornia Mr. D. W. Coquillett has the cell with its hind legs . Just as soon as it taken Astata nubecula Cr. in October, reached the required depth the wasp flew a few feet preying upon Thyanta rugu.losa Say to the adjoining bark and falling upon an Orcheli11wm vulga1-e or 0. grncile and storing them in a burrow formed stung and paralyzed it instantly, bore it to in a limestone formation. its nest and was out of sight in a moment, Famz'ly X I. AMPULIClDA.E, In and while in the bottom of its hole must this small family only a single species, have deposited its egg in its victim. Re Rhinopsis canali'culata Say, is found appearing it began to draw the sand back into the hole scratching it in quite briskly by in the United States. It is exceedingly means of its spiny fore tarsi, while standing rare and nothing is known of its habits, on its two hind pairs of legs. It thus threw but it has probably similar habits to its in half an inch of dirt upon the grasshopper oriental cousin Ampulex compressmn and then flew off. Fabr., which preys upon cockroaches. q Family XII. SPHECIDAE, The This is probably the case with all the species, in this family, vary greatly in species in this genus, only I think they size and habits. It is represented in our must provision their nests with more fauna by about 80 species distributed in than one locust. 9 genera. and some curious mistakes Mr. J. Angus, according to Dr. have been made about them both as Packard, has reared Isodontia tibialz's regards the unity of habits in the species St. Fargeau from a cavity previously and their mode of living. tunnelled by Xylocopa virgznzca. The genus Sphex Linn. preys upon This shows the species of this genus young Acridiidae and Locustidae. Dr. have diflerent habits from Sj>lzex, and Packard has observed Sphex z'chneu is still further supported by an obser monea L . in Massachusetts in the last vation of Mr. D. W. Coquillett's, who week of July and during August and tells me Isodontia elegans Pattn. in early in September, digging their holes California preys upon Oecanthus nz'veus in a gravel_ly walk. DeGeer. April 1S94.J PSYCHE. 65 The genera Chlorion Latr. anJ Pelopaeus cementarz'us Drury, Chalybion Dahlb. are very closely allied widely distributed all over North in structure and color. Dr. Riley, in America, with three or four distinct the .R,e.p. U. S. ent. comm., ml. i, varieties, and known as the '·Mud P· 328-, says: "A steel-blue species, dauber" also preys only upon spiders. Chlorion coeruleum, though ordinarily In another paper I hope to give a full using spiders, also employs locusts." account of its life history and parasites. This species, as far as my observations The genus Ammophila Latr. preys in Florida go, instead of "ordinarily upon Lepiclopterous larvae, or at least using spiders" to provision its nest, in all true Ammophilae. In our fauna, variably uses crickets, Gryllus and I think we have two distinct genera allies. This is also supported by Mr. confused. Coquillett's observations on it in the Ammophz'la sabulosa Linn. of West, who tells me he has taken it prey Europe, according to Latreille, pro ing upon Gryllus luctuosus; also by visions its cells with caterpillars and Mr. Wm. H. Edwards's statement this agrees with the habits of the North quoted by Riley (I. c. supra, p. 3 r9), American Ammophilae. Westwood, who took it in Coalburgh, W. Va., run however, states that Shuckard observed ning about with a "hopper." this same species "dragging a very We have here, therefore, a case of large inflated spicier up the nearly per mistaken indentity, as it is Chalybion pendicular side of a sand-bank at least zo coentleum Linn. and not the above feet high and whilst burrowing makes species that preys upon spiders. a 1-oud whirring buzz." Shuckard here Another curious error about this species evidently mistook a species of Psam has also crept into our literature, and moph£la for this insect, which at a dis is repeated again and again by our most tance very closely resembles one of prominent entomologists, which is that these insects. this also sometimes stores its cells with Walsh discovered his Ammophi/a Lepidopterous larvae. This error prob pt'ctipennz's in southern Illinois pro ably occurred by some one finding in visioning its nests with cut-worms and some of its cells Lepidopterous larvae, I have seen it doing the same thing in and without taking time to thoroughly the South. In the Proc. ent. soc. investigate the matter, jumped to the ,vash., vol. ii, 1891, p. 256, Mr. Theo. conclusion they were placed there hy Pt!rgande has published at length some the Chalybion, when in reality they interesting observations of his· made were placed there by quite a diflerent on Ammophila gryphus Smith, which insect-an Odynerid or Eumenid. preys upon the larva of Heterocampa There can be no doubt of this as I subalbicans; while in Ent. news, vol. - have in three cases succeeded in rearing iii, p. 85, Dr. S. W. Williston has the Odynerid. published similar observations on a [April 1894. 66 PSYCHE. The effect of the introduction of its venom ~cies found in Kansas and other is as sudden as the snap of the electric spark. western st"i.tes-A;;;;;phil;-yarr~wi The wasp then drags it, going backwards, to Cr. some suitable place, excavates a hole five A single caterpillar usually suffices inches deep in the earth, places its great for the food supply of a single wasp spider in it, deposits an egg under one of its then covers the hole larva but this species brought cater legs, near the body, a:1d very securely. pillar after caterpillar ''till four or five of them have been stored up for the sus Just as is found to be the case among tainment of her future offspring." Dr. the true bees, some of the genera being Williston says:- parasitic or inquilinous on those of in this family we The things that struck us a most remark some of the others, so able was the mo t unerring judgment in the have at least one that is parasitic- the selection of a pebble of precisely the right genus Ceropales Latreille, which li ves size to fit the entrance and the use of the in the cells of the others. St. Fargeau, small pebble in smoothing down and packing as quoted by vVestwood, seems to have the soil over the opening, together with the been the first to observe this curious in tinct that taught them to remove every the evidence that the earth had been disturbed . habit, "having often observed females of this genus enter backwards_ In Florida I have seen Ammophila into the nests of some of the real cementaria Smith preying upon a half fossorial species, which he considered grown Sphinx larva, which after para a certain proof that their object was to lyzing it seized by its large jaws just deposit their own eggs therein." back of the head ; and as the larva This parasitism has been confirmed was too l1eavy for it to fly with, it strad in America by Walsh and Riley, who dled it and then dragged it off to its cell, have bred Ceropales rujiventris from moving forwards. the cells of Agenia bombycina Cr. and . Family XIII. PoMPILIDAE. This other Ageniae. family is well represented in our fauna The genus Agenia Schiodte also by 10 genera and 127 described species, preys upon spiders. Walsh and the majority of which seem to prey Riley in Amer. ent., vol. i, p. 131 have entirely upon spiders. figured and described the thimble In the American naturalist for 1887 1 shaped cells of four of our species - Dr. G. Lincecum has given us a most Ageni-a bombycina Cr., A. corticalis interesting account of probably our W alsh, A. architecta Say and A. largest species, Pepsis formosus Say, mellt'pes Say- built under old bark ot known in the South as "The tarantula standing trees or under logs and stones. killer." It preys upon Mygale hentzii From these cells, besides the Cero Girard and Dr. Lincecum, in speaking pales already mentioned, Walsh bred a of the effects of the sting upon the Chalcid-Ay Pteromalus sp. and Ospry spider, says:- nochotus junceus Cr.