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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps » Vespoidea » Vespidae » Pollen Wasps (Masarinae) » Pseudomasaris » Pseudomasaris edwardsii
Photo#278883
Wasp - Pseudomasaris edwardsii
Copyright © 2009 Elliotte Rusty Harold

Wasp - Pseudomasaris edwardsii
Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, Orange County, California, USA
May 23, 2009
Size: 2-3cm
Perhaps Vespula, but I can't find anything that's an exact match.

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Wasp - Pseudomasaris edwardsii Wasp - Pseudomasaris edwardsii
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Contributed by Elliotte Rusty Harold on 23 May, 2009 - 8:56pm
Last updated 1 December, 2009 - 12:40pm

Moved
Moved from Pseudomasaris.
I'm 99% sure this is P. edwardsii, though I can't see all of the diagnostic characters. The propodeal spine looks right, so do the yellow markings which are pretty much constant in extent in this sp.
The size of this wasp must certainly be smaller than "2-3cm". The flower looks like P. cicutaria var. hispida, or Phacelia ramosissima, both of which occur at Laguna. Based on what I know about the size of those flowers & their stamens I'd guess at a length of 12mm to at most 14mm for this pollen wasp.
Oh, try to find some males next spring. Though they're not as numerous as the females, you can detect them by their busy flight pattern & long, spectacularly clubbed antennae:
… Hartmut Wisch, 1 December, 2009 - 12:40pm login or register to post comments

Female "pollen wasp"
Female in the genus Pseudomasaris. Wow, I can't get them to stand still here in AZ! Great images.
… Eric R. Eaton, 24 May, 2009 - 12:25am login or register to post comments

 
Perhaps edwardsii, then. What
Perhaps edwardsii, then. What clues you in that this is a female?
… Elliotte Rusty Harold, 24 May, 2009 - 8:01am login or register to post comments

 
short antennae
=female
… John S. Ascher, 24 May, 2009 - 10:10am login or register to post comments

 
OK. Short antenna = female. H
OK. Short antenna = female. How broad is that? All wasps? All hymenopterans? All Vespids?
… Elliotte Rusty Harold, 24 May, 2009 - 10:05pm login or register to post comments

 
Not always.
The distinction is just incredibly dramatic in this genus! Moved to genus page. I have a key back home in Tucson, so if no one makes a species determination by January, let me know and I'll run your images through it.
… Eric R. Eaton, 12 June, 2009 - 10:17am login or register to post comments

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