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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps » Apoid Wasps (traditional Sphecidae) » Thread-waisted Wasps (Sphecidae) » Sphecinae » Sphecini » Sphex

Genus Sphex

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Range · Life Cycle · Works Cited
Black wasp - Sphex pensylvanicus Large Sphecid - Sphex pensylvanicus - male Great Black Wasp (Sphex pensylvanicus)? - Sphex pensylvanicus - male Sphex ichneumoneus? - Sphex ichneumoneus Black wasp - Sphex pensylvanicus large wasp - Sphex habenus - male Sphex ichneumoneus Great Golden Digger Wasp - Sphex ichneumoneus
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)
No Taxon (Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps)
No Taxon (Apoid Wasps (traditional Sphecidae))
Family Sphecidae (Thread-waisted Wasps)
Subfamily Sphecinae
Tribe Sphecini
Genus Sphex
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Although the name is masculine, Linnaeus treated it as feminine, and many workers followed
Explanation of Names
Sphex Linnaeus 1758
Greek σφηξ, the ancient name of a kind of wasp
Numbers
12 spp. in 2 subgenera (Fernaldia with just 1 sp.) in our area(1), ~120 spp. worldwide(2); 9 spp. in e. US(3)
Size
Up to 28 mm
Range
worldwide and throughout NA(4)
Life Cycle
Prey on katydids, Tettigoniidae, utilizing one species per wasp species. Nest is built in ground, somewhat gregarious.
Works Cited
1.American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico
Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.
2.Catalog of Sphecidae sensu lato
3.Raney H. (-2014) Eastern sphecid wasps
4.Ascher J.S., Pickering J. (2017) Discover Life bee species guide and world checklist (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila)
Contributed by Cotinis on 16 February, 2004 - 12:32pm
Additional contributions by Hartmut Wisch, Chuck Entz, v belov, PaleoJon, bdagley
Last updated 15 January, 2022 - 10:18pm

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