Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Most subfamilies formerly placed in Sphecidae were assigned to family
Crabronidae by Prentice (1998) and Melo (1999) - see PDF doc by Pulawski in Internet References section below.
The name of the single remaining subfamily (Sphecinae) of Sphecidae is not used by Prentice, Melo, or Pulawski, who recognize only the tribes within Sphecidae. The four tribes are Ammophilini, Chloriontini, Sceliphrini, Sphecini.
Numbers
728 species in the world.
206 species in North America
Identification
abdomen long and stalked (petiolate), giving the body a "thread-waisted" appearance; middle tibiae with two apical spurs; body may be all black (sometimes tinged with metallic blue or green), black and red, yellow and black, or white and black
Range
much of North America and the world
Habitat
most species nest in the ground, usually in areas that have sparse or no vegetation; some species construct aerial nests composed of mud; a few species nest in hollow plant stems or abandoned bee burrows in logs
Food
larvae feed on the paralyzed bodies of a variety of arthropods (the host varies according to wasp species) provided to them by adult wasps; common hosts include spiders, grasshoppers, and caterpillars
adults feed on nectar from flowers and extrafloral nectaries, honeydew, and body fluids of their prey
Life Cycle
the large majority of species are solitary nesters; some species are kleptoparasitic, using prey caught by other wasps in order to provide it to their own larvae
Internet References
using current classification
classification; PDF doc of superfamily Apoidea (Wojciech Pulawski, 2006, California Academy of Sciences--
Catalog of Sphecidae)
number of species worldwide (California Academy of Sciences)
brief history of classification plus common name reference (Wikipedia, wikipedia.org)
included genera (Discover Life, U. of Georgia)
taxonomic tree (Tree of Life, tolweb.org)
using older classification
brief overview of older classification, plus links to pinned adult images of various genera/species (John Haarstad, Insects of Cedar Creek, U. of Minnesota)
overview of subfamily Sphecinae and list of Michigan species with links to pinned adult images and biology of each species (Mark O'Brien, U. of Michigan)
Eastern Sphecid Wasps list of species plus brief description, biology, hosts, and distribution [list of US states only] (Herschel Raney)
distribution of 21 species occurring in Canada (Albert Finnamore, naturewatch.ca)
