Pollen wasp

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Pollen wasps

Pseudomasaris vespoides

Scientific classification

Kingdom:

Animalia

Phylum:

Arthropoda

Class:

Insecta

Order:

Hymenoptera

Suborder:

Apocrita

Superfamily:

Vespoidea

Family:

Vespidae

Subfamily:

Masarinae

Genera

Gayellini Gayella Paramasaris

Masarini Priscomasarina Priscomasaris

Paragiina Metaparagia Paragia

Masarina Celonites Ceramiopsis Ceramius Jugurtia Masarina Masaris Pseudomasaris Quartinia Trimeria

Pollen wasps are unusual wasps that are typically treated as a subfamily of Vespidae, but have in the past sometimes been recognized as a separate family, "Masaridae", which also included the subfamily Euparagiinae. It is a small subfamily, unique among wasps in feeding their larvaeexclusively with pollen and nectar, in a fashion quite similar to many solitary bees. Most species are black or brown, marked with strikingly contrasting patterns of yellow, white, or red (or combinations thereof). They are most diverse and abundant in the desert regions of southern Africa, but also occur in the deserts of North and South America. Some species of Pseudomasaris in California, such as Pseudomasaris vespoides, bear a remarkable resemblance to yellowjackets, but can be recognized by their strongly clubbed antennae, a characteristic feature of the subfamily. Males have the antennae greatly elongated, but still ending in a strong club.

They carry pollen in their crops, and regurgitate it along with nectar when provisioning the cells of their nests, and they lay their eggs in the soupy mass before sealing the cell. The nests are often constructed of mud, or burrows in the ground, and these can have one to multiple individual cells. The nests are commonly located in concealed places, such as under rocks or in crevices.

References[edit]

Richards, O. W. 1962. A revisional study of the masarid wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). British Museum (Natural History), London, England, 302 pp.

Gess, S.K. 1996. The Pollen Wasps: Ecology and Natural History of the Masarinae . Harvard University Press).

Carpenter, J.M. 2001. Checklist of species of the subfamily Masarinae (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). American Museum Novitates, 3325: 1-40.
Wikispecies has information related to: Masarinae

Pseudomasaris coquilletti

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