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Genus Bicyrtes
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)
No Taxon (Apoid Wasps (Apoidea)- traditional Sphecidae)
Family Crabronidae
Subfamily Bembicinae
Tribe Bembicini (Sand Wasps)
Subtribe Bembicina
Genus Bicyrtes
Other Common Names Sand Wasps (also applied to genus Bembix, which is closely related) Synonyms and other taxonomic changes Bicyrtes Lepeletier, 1845 Explanation of Names From Latin bis, two, plus Greek kyrtos, humped--refers to two projections from the middle of the body (1). Numbers Nearctica.com and Arnett, p. 598 (2) list eight North American species.
Bohart (1996) lists 27 species for entire New World. Size B. quadrifasciata: circa 19 mm, B. ventralis: circa 13 mm (3)Identification Resemble, and related to, sand wasps, Bembix. See Internet references for identification. Range Includes eastern North America. Widespread species in eastern North America appear to be Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus and Bicyrtes ventralis.
Genus as a whole is confined to New World (Bohart, 1996). Habitat Found at fields with flowers. Nests in sandy soil. Season Summer, fall. Brimley (4) lists season in North Carolina for B. quadrifasciatus as June-October, B. ventralis as May-November. Life Cycle Provision nests with hemiptera, especially stinkbugs ( Pentatomidae), also leaf-footed bugs ( Coreidae), and sometimes assassin bugs ( Reduviidae). The nest is "mass-provisioned", i.e., stocked just once, then closed (1)(5)(6). Print References
Bohart, 1996. A review of the genus Bicyrtes. Insecta Mundi 10: 139-152 ( PDF)
Eaton and Kaufman, pp. 336-337 (6)
Evans, pp. 40-41, pp. 45-46, life history of B. ventralis, photo--plate 4 (1)
Lutz, p. 421, 3rd ed., describes 2 spp., gives lengths. (3)
Marshall, photos 559.3-4, of Bicyrtes ventralis (5)Internet References Insects of Cedar Creek: Sphecidae--mentions life history, Bicyrtes--photos of B. ventralis, quadrifasciata.
B. ventralis--photo of living specimen from Canada.
North Carolina State University Entomology Collection lists from that state, with number pinned: capnoptera(3), fodiens(9), quadrifasciata(63), ventralis(64)
Works Cited | 1. | Wasp Farm
By Howard Ensign Evans | |
Contributed by Cotinis on 24 August, 2004 - 10:02pm Last updated 5 August, 2009 - 8:44am |
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