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Subfamily Masarinae - Pollen Wasps

Pseudomasaris edwardsii - female Pseudomasaris edwardsii - female Pseudomasaris marginalis - female Pseudomasaris vespoides - male Pseudomasaris phaceliae Male Pollen Wasp - Pseudomasaris vespoides - male 76 - Pseudomasaris vespoides Masarinae - Pseudomasaris vespoides - female
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)
No Taxon (Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps)
Superfamily Vespoidea
Family Vespidae (Hornets, Yellowjackets; Paper, Potter, Mason, and Pollen Wasps; and Allies)
Subfamily Masarinae (Pollen Wasps)
Explanation of Names
Masarinae Latreille 1802
Numbers
14 spp. in our area (all Pseudomasaris), ~300 spp. in 14 genera of 2 tribes total(1)
Size
10‒20 mm
Identification
Clubbed antennae distinctive; FW with two submarginal cells.
key to NA spp. in(2)
Range
worldwide; in NA, western(1)
Food
larvae (unlike those of other vespids) feed on pollen and nectar
Life Cycle
The females make nests of mud or sand attached to twigs or rocks. They provision the nests with pollen and nectar and lay their eggs. The eggs hatch into larvae that eat the provisions, then pupate and emerge as adults.
Print References
Bradley J.C. (1922) The taxonomy of the Masarid wasps, including a monograph of the North American species. UC Publ. Entomol. 1: 369-464. (Full text)
(3)
Works Cited
1.Checklist of species of the subfamily Masarinae (Hymenoptera, Vespidae)
Carpenter J.M. 2001. American Museum novitates 3325. 40 pp.
2.New records of Pseudomasaris Ashmead (Hymenoptera:Vespoidea, Masaridae), with notes on P. phaceliae Rohwer and P. cazieri Bohart
Richards O.W. 1966. Proc. R. Ent. Soc. London (B) 35(3-4): 47-55.
3.The Pollen Wasps
Sarah K. Gess. 1996.