Pollen wasp - Pseudomasaris vespoides - BugGuide.Net

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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 » Hornets, Yellowjackets; Paper, Potter, Mason, and Pollen Wasps; and Allies (Vespidae) » Pollen Wasps (Masarinae) » Pseudomasaris » Pseudomasaris vespoides

Photo#279579

Copyright © 2009 Fred Bentler

Pollen wasp - Pseudomasaris vespoides -

Lake Roosevelt, Ferry County, Washington, USA
May 22, 2009
Size: ~18mm

I caught this pollen wasp on fuzzytongue (Whited's) penstemon and figured it was Pseudomasaris vespoides with generally darker coloration compared to those further south.

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Pollen wasp - Pseudomasaris vespoides - male

Pollen wasp - Pseudomasaris vespoides - male

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Contributed by Fred Bentler on 25 May, 2009 - 9:37am
Last updated 27 June, 2009 - 3:30pm

Moved

Moved from Pseudomasaris.

… Hartmut Wisch, 27 June, 2009 - 3:30pm

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Hello Fred,

This is a male of Pseudomasaris vespoides based on the following: antennal club being concave on the underside, and the club is longer than antennal segment 3, and T7 (the terminal abdominal segment) having a pair of small dorsal tubercles (see here: 1 , and 2 . Your wasp is darker as is commonly seen in northern specimens of this species (i.e. pale markings become less extensive, and more whitish; I learned this first from Roy Snelling); see this one from Alberta:

.

… Hartmut Wisch, 25 June, 2009 - 11:48pm

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Thanks Hartmut!

Great description and examples. This was in the same location I've seen P. edwardsii in the past... must be a good location for Pseudomasaris.

… Fred Bentler, 26 June, 2009 - 8:05am

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If the food is there

to provision the offspring they seem to be able to find it. Last year I spied a patch of Penstemon spectabilis along a road in central CA. There were no other Penstemon nearby, but P. vespoides was there.
Saw 3 different spp. in one general area a few years ago, with vespoides in P. spectabilis; Phacelia distans was used by both edwardsii, and coquilletti.
A couple of days ago I saw female edwardsii in Phacelia imbricata at ~7600ft.
Also found zonalis recently at ~6400ft., though haven't posted any of those yet. Haven't had time to compare with specimens yet, though will do so soon.

… Hartmut Wisch, 26 June, 2009 - 9:59am

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Moved to genus page.

I have a key back home in Tucson, so if no one makes a definitive judgment by January, let me know and I'll run your images through it.

… Eric R. Eaton, 12 June, 2009 - 10:10am

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