Genus Pseudomasaris

Classification · Numbers · Identification · Range · Habitat · Food · Remarks · Print References · Works Cited

Pollen Wasp #3 - Pseudomasaris edwardsii - female

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)

No Taxon (Aculeata - Bees, Ants, and other Stinging Wasps)

Superfamily Vespoidea

Family Vespidae (Yellowjackets, Paper Wasps, and Hornets; Potter, Mason and Pollen Wasps)

Subfamily Masarinae (Pollen Wasps)

Genus Pseudomasaris

Numbers

Nearctica lists 14 species.

Identification

Clubbed antennae and wing veination with two submarginal cells (rather than the three of other Vespid wasps).

Range

Western North America, but have not been found north of 50 degrees North latitude (see Gess, (1)

Habitat

Semiarid to arid areas where preferred plants occur.

Food

Mainly oligolectic, favoring Phacelia , Eriodictyon (both Hydrophyllaceae s.s.), or Penstemon species. Adults may take nectar from plants of some other families, but females provision offspring with a mixture of pollen and nectar. (from Gess (1)

Remarks

According to Rob Longair: Masarine wasps in North America tend to be limited to mid-elevations in the west and are often very restricted in seasonality, appearing over a few weeks in early- to mid-summer where I've seen them (Colorado and Alberta). They form mud nests on rocks and these are incredibly hard to find

Print References

Richards, O.W. The Species Pseudomasaris Ashmead (Hymenoptera, Masaridae). U.C. Press. 1963

Works Cited

1.	The Pollen Wasps By Sarah K. Gess

Contributed by Beatriz Moisset on 28 June, 2005 - 5:09pm
Additional contributions by Hannah Nendick-Mason, Hartmut Wisch
Last updated 18 December, 2007 - 4:27pm

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