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: Proceedings of the United States National Museum SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION • WASHINGTON, D.C. Volume 116 1965 Number 3506 REVIEW OF THE GENUS CERCERIS IN AMERICA NORTH OF MEXICO (HYMENOPTERA: SPHECIDAE) By Herman A. Scullen ' Introduction The wasp tribe Cercerini as recognized in this country (Muesebeck, Krombein, and Townes, 1951) consists of the two genera Cerceris Latreille (1802) and Eucerceris Cresson (1865). The former is well represented in aU continental areas while the latter is limited to North America. The earUest references to the genus Cerceris in North America were by Thomas Say when he published descriptions of the following species jrontata Say deserta Say Say, and (1823), (1825) , fumipennis (1837) sexta Say (1837). Numerous species have been described since the publications of Say. In 1865 E. T. Cresson monographed the Family Philanthidea of North America, which at that time included the genus Cerceris and the new genus Eucercens. Cresson published over 20 papers relating to Cercerini and described a total of 20 species recorded from north of the Mexican border. In 1912 Nathan Banks published his first paper on the genus Cerceris. This was followed by eleven additional papers. In all, Banks described 52 species of 1 Professor Emeritus, Department of Entomology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oreg. Grants from General Research (Research Paper no. 469) under the Graduate School and from the National Science Foundation have assisted in these studies. 333 ; 334 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. iie Cerceris.noTth. of the Mexican border. In spite of the fact that many of Bank's species have proven to be synonyms, his contribution has been outstanding. The work of H. S. Smith and C. E. Mickel in Nebraska is worthy of special note. In describing new Mexican species, Saussm-e (1867) and Cameron (1890) included several species found subsequently to range north of the Mexican border. Numerous other workers have added one or more species to the present list. A summary of all contributors (with the number of species described and their principal publication dates in parentheses) is as follows: Say (4, 1823, 1825, 1837); Spinola (1, 1841); Dahlbom (2, 1845); Guerin (2, 1845) ; F. Smith (4, 1856) ; Cresson (20, 1865, 1872) ; Packard (1, 1866) ; Saussure (6, 1867) ; Taschenberg (1, 1875) ; Patton (1, 1880) Schletterer (1, 1887) ; Provancher (1, 1888) ; Cameron (4, 1890, 1904); Fox (2, 1893) ; Cockerell (1, 1897) ; Viereck (1, 1902) ; Viereck and Cock- erell (17, 1904); H. S. Smith (2, 1903); Rohwer (6, 1908, 1920); Banks (52, 1912, 1913, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1919, 1923, 1947); Mickel (15, 1916, 1917); Brknley (5, 1927, 1928, 1929). Fourteen new species and 12 new subspecies are described by the author in the present paper. Biology.—Members of the genus Cerceris are solitary in their nesting habits although several females usually are found nesting close together. The grouping of several nests in the same area has been considered to be the result of the suitability of soil conditions and the availability of food for both larvae and adults. Krombein's observa- tions (1936) on C. nigrescens F. Smith, however, indicate there are exceptions. Apparently the adults feed solely on nectar and pollen, while the larvae are fed beetles.^ Only a limited number of species of Cerceris have been studied carefully to determine their nesting and feeding habits. Most species of Cerceris use some species of weevil to feed their young. On the other hand, the females of Group II are known to use Buprestidae. Both species forming Group IV {macro- sticta Viereck and CockereU and jemurruhrum Viereck and CockereU) are known to use Tenebrionidae. Recently, Werner (1960) reported C. truncata Cameron using three species of Bruchidae in Arizona. C. convergens Viereck and Cockerell also has been recorded collecting Bruchus sp. in southern California. Several species of Cerceris have been found to collect ChrysomeUdae. One observation recorded by J. C. Bridwell in unpublished notes is of special interest. Females of C. fumipennis Say under observation at Clifton, Virginia, were found "to be storing their nests with adult 2 Some European species of Cerceris are known to store solitary bees as food for their young. For a brief discussion and references, the reader is referred to Linslcy and MacSwain (1956, p. 72). The records of Cerceris collecting insects other than beetles in this country are open to question. WASP GENTJS CERCERIS—SCULLEN 335 beetles of the genus Chlamisus, a Chrysomelidae resembling Bupresti- dae only in their hard integument and their metallic luster." This change of prey took place after Buprestidae ceased to fly. Two unpublished records (Princeton, N.J., July 5, 1948, by K. W. Cooper, and Winchester, Va., July 23, 1961, by Frank Kurczewski) of C. clypeata Dahlbom taking Lema trilineata Oliver, a Chrysomelidae, have come to the writer's attention. C. clypeata normally takes weevils. Noteworthy published contributions in the field of Cerceris biology north of INlexico are summarized briefly below. The Peckhams (1898, pp. 108-117) report observations made on C. clypeata Dalhbom, C. deserta Say, and C. nigrescens F. Smith. C. clypeata Dahlbom was seen taking Balaninus nasicus Say. C. deserta Say was reported taking Conotrcbchelus posticatus Boheman. From Peckham's statement that C. deserta Say "closely resembles clypeata," it would appear the observations were made on a species other than the one accepted as deserta Say by Cresson, the present writer, and others (see p. 478). The above beetles are Curculionidae. The prey of C. nigrescens F. Smith was not recorded. In 1900 (p. 90) the Peckhams published a brief note on C. fumipennis Say found nesting in Wisconsin. This wasp was found collecting Chrysobothris 4-impressa Castelnaw. Hartman (1905, p. 66) in reporting briefly on the nesting habits of C. fumipennis Say indicates it was collecting the weevil Conotrachelus neocrataege} This species of wasp usually takes Buprestidae. Grossbeck (1912a, p. 135) reported briefly on observations made at Yaphank, Long Island., N.Y., in 1911 on nesting Cerceris fumipennis Say. He reported the wasp storing the following Buprestidae: Dicerca punctulata (Schonherr), Buprestis lineata Fabricius, and Chrysobothris floricola Gory. Rau and Rau (1918), reporting on field studies near St. Louis, Mo., record the activities of C. fumipennis Say (pp. 126-127) and C. finitima Ci-esson (p. 133). The former wasp was found using Argilus abjectus Horn (Buprestidae). The prey of the latter wasp was not recorded. It was found to have made a nest in the pith-chamber of a weed-stalk although the Raus had noted it earher entering holes in the ground as is usual for the genus. Rau (1928, pp. 325-341) reports detailed studies of C. raui Rohwer {=C.frontata raui Rohwer), which he found nesting at Jerseydale about thirty miles south of St. Louis, Mo. This wasp was found using Thecesternus humeralis Say and Lixus concamis Say. Rau here reports also on his studies of C. bicornuta Guerin, which was using three species of billbugs, Spheno- ^ C. neocrataege is not a valid name in the genus Conotrachelus. Correct identi- fication of the material Hartman had is not possible. 336 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. ue jahorus placidus (Say), S. zeae Walsh, and S. parwlus Gyllenhal. The cuckoo-wasp Hedychrum violaceum Brulle was seen entering the bicornuta burrow. On page 338, Rau reports that C. jinitima Cres- son "make nests in twdgs," but the present writer finds no other record of this or any other species of Cerceris nesting in twigs. In 1928 (pp. 205-206) Abbott reported observations on the nesting and prey of Cerceris architis Mickel (— C halone Banks), which he found nesting at Elgin, 111. This wasp was using Curculio nasicus Say as food for its young. In 1929 (p. 35) Cartwright reported C. bicornuta Guerin provision- ing its nests with the maize billbug Calendra maidis Chittenden. Cartwright in 1931 (pp. 269-270) reported some observations at Jocassee, S.C., on C. Jumipennis Say, which he found collecting the beetle Buprestidae. Specimens of these beetles found about the wasp's nesting area numbered 136 and represented 20 species that he listed by name. At the same time, he reported seeing a specimen of C. mandibularis Patton bringing in a grasshopper nymph. This unusual prey record needs verification. Strandtmann reported briefly in 1945 (pp. 311-312) observations of three species of Cerceris in Ohio. C. serripes Fabricius (=C. bicornuta Guerin) was reported collecting a weevil, Calandra sp.; C. rujinoda Cresson, the weevil Tychius picirostris (Fabricius) ; C.jinitima Cresson, a black flea beetle, Cheatocnema pulicaria Melsheimer. Krombein has taken advantage of the opportunity to study the biology of several species of Cerceris over the past years. In 1936 (pp. 93-99) he reported observations made of C. nigrescens F. Smith at Buftalo, N.Y. He found this vv^asp provisioning its nest with Hyperodes delumbis GyUenhal and Sitona hispidula Fabricius. A sarcophagid (Senotainia trUineata Van der Wulp) was seen shadowing the wasp. In 1938 (pp. 1-3) Krombein reported subsequent observa- tions at Buffalo on C. nigrescens F. Smith, where the wasp was found to be using the beetles Sitona hispidula (Fabricius), Oymnetron antirrhini Paykull, Oymnetron sp., and Hyperodes delumbis (GyUenhal), aU of which are Curcuhonidae. In 1950 (pp. 147-149) Krombein reported studies of a colony of C. robertsonii Fox at Kill Devil Hills, N.C. This species of wasp was found provisioning its ceUs with a chrysomelid (Rhabdopterus picipes (Oliver)). Aletopia leucocephala (Rossi), a parasitic sarcophagid fly was reared from the wasp cell. Subsequent studies by the same worker in 1952 at Kill Devil Hills, N.C. (1953, pp. 113-121), showed this wasp to be collecting Cryptocephalus notatus Fabricius and Pachy- brachis dilatatus Suffrian (Chrysomehdae). At the same location he reported C.

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