Genus Eremnophila

Eremnophila Menke 1964

Formerly treated as part of Ammophila

Greek eremnos 'black, swarthy, dark' + phila 'lover'; alternatively, Greek eremos 'desert' + philein 'to love'(1)

A single species (E. aureonotata) in our area(2), 9 spp. total(3)

With rare exception, Eremnophila can most easily be identified by the distinct silvery-white patches on the sides of the thorax (at the pronotal lobes and mesopleura), and near the terminal end of the thorax (next to the propodeal spiracle and the petiole socket). See the thumbs below for typical illustrations:

The other two Nearctic genera in subfamily Ammophilinae (Ammophila and Podalonia) do not have these silvery-white patches.

An instance of the rare exception to the above (where the white patches are absent) is seen in the post below:

In such cases, one can use the technical key character separating Eremnophila from all other ammophilin genera...namely, that the "episternal sulcus" (a sutural groove) forms a sharp, rear-ward pointing angle. Other genera have a straight of slightly bowed episternal sulcus. This character is illustrated in Fig. G here, where "es" is an abbreviation for the episternal sulcus. Sharply pointed episternal sulcus is also clearly visible in the post below, to the left of the large white patch at the center of the thorax:

(Click here for a larger view.)

References for the above discussion are here and here (scroll down to see Figures 32 G & H) in Bohart & Menke(4).

Canada and U.S east of 100th meridion, south to Costa Rica (4)(3)

(1) Males grasp neck of females with mandibles during mating:

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(2) Eremnophila and other sphecids are often followed by satelite flies, which attempt to lay their eggs of the wasp's caterpillar prey:

(3) In the eastern U.S. and Canada, Eremnophila is probably more often seen than Ammophila (cf. this comment).

(4) More on A.S. Menke: Obituary for his wife, a list of Funny or Curious Zoological Names, a story of how Menke named a wasp