Genus Podalonia - Cutworm Wasps

19 spp. in our area(1), 66 spp. worldwide(2)

ca. 25 mm (P. luctuosa)

Podalonia is similar to Ammophila, but the petiole in Podalonia is typically shorter (appearing to involve only one segment) and flares upward at a steeper angle at the abdomen; whereas in Ammophila the petiole is proportionately longer (appearing to involve two segments) and tapers more gradually, meeting the abdomen at a more shallow angle.

Stated differently, the abdomen is more robust in Podalonia and appears to bend upward at the end of the petiole; while in Ammophila the abdomen appears more or less straight with the petiole, or bent downward. All this can be clarified be examining figures A and C here in Bohart & Menke(3); and is illustrated in the posts below:

Podalonia ... and Ammophila

Across North & Central America; Eaurasia, Africa(4)

Fields, etc. with flowers...often with sandy soils.

Jun-Sep (P. violaceipennis, MN); Apr-Oct (several spp., MI(5)); Apr-May, Sep (P. violaceipennis, NC(6))

Adults take nectar at various flowers, such as goldenrod. Larva feed on caterpillars (provisioned by adult female).

Parasitoids of Noctuidae (cutworm) caterpillars. Excavate nest after finding prey, reversal of the order for most sphecids. One caterpillar is placed in each cell. P. luctuosa has two flights per year in Michigan. Second brood overwinters in burrows, sometimes with others of the species. Other species have one generation per year.

Murray, W. D., "Podalonia (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) of North and Central America" (1940), in Entomologica Americana, Vol.

20, pp. 1-77.

The digger wasps of North America of the genus Podalonia (Psammophila), by Fernald, H. T. (1927)

Observations on the nesting behavior of Podalonia argentifrons, by O'Brien, M. F. (1983)

Nesting Behavior of Podalonia robusta, by Kurczewski, O'Brien, & Spofford (1992). Nice article richly detailing nesting behavior typical for the genus.

Observations on the Prey and Nest Clusters of Podalonia valida, by K. M. O'Neill and H. E. Evans (1999)