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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Bees, Ants, and other Stinging Wasps » Ants, Stinging Wasps, and Hornets (Vespoidea) » Yellowjackets, Paper Wasps, and Hornets; Potter, Mason and Pollen Wasps (Vespidae) » Potter and Mason Wasps (Eumeninae) » Pterocheilus
Photo#53248
Pterocheilus
Copyright © 2006 Hartmut Wisch

Pterocheilus
Lockwood Valley Road near Wagonroad Canyon, Ventura County, California, USA
May 19, 2006
Size: 12-14mm
This small wasp, feeding on Chaenactis glabriuscula, seems similar in many respects to images #53135, 36, 37 (genus ID by Richard Vernier):
for instance head shape and markings, thorax, size and color of tegulae. Abdominal markings differ in that there's no white, and the second abdominal segment's black area doesn't have the 'apron' shape. (See 1 and companion photos)

Images of this individual: tag all
Pterocheilus Pterocheilus
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Contributed by Hartmut Wisch on 21 May, 2006 - 6:19pm
Last updated 22 May, 2006 - 2:15pm

Quite right
This is obviously a second species of Pterocheilus, although mouthparts are not visible this time. This region of California seems to be blessed with a very rich Vespid fauna, just like Mediterranean basin in the Old World.
The genus name refers to the labial palps, compared to "wings" due to their feathery outline (ancient descriptors were more imaginative than accurate). The tegulae are exactly what you guessed, the parategulae being the smaller toothlike structures between them and the mesoscutellum.
… Richard Vernier, 22 May, 2006 - 12:18am login or register to post comments

 
Thanks again, Richard,
I'll move these to the genus page for now, and hope to get some more detail soon.
… Hartmut Wisch, 22 May, 2006 - 2:13pm login or register to post comments

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