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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps » Apoidea sans Anthophila – Apoid Wasps » Thread-waisted Wasps (Sphecidae) » Ammophilinae » Ammophila

Genus Ammophila

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Print References · Works Cited
Thread-Waisted Wasp - Ammophila fernaldi Ammophila pictipennis - female Bug ID - Ammophila Thread-wasted Wasp - Ammophila Wasp with prey - Ammophila pictipennis - female Ammophila pictipennis? - Ammophila pictipennis Thread-waisted Wasps - Ammophila Ammophila? - Ammophila
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 (Apoidea sans Anthophila – Apoid Wasps)
Family Sphecidae (Thread-waisted Wasps)
Subfamily Ammophilinae
Genus Ammophila
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
revised in (1)
Explanation of Names
Ammophila W. Kirby 1798
'sand lover'
Numbers
62 spp. in our area, ~240 total(1)
Size
11‒38 mm (mostly 20‒25 mm)
Identification
see (1)
in Podalonia, the bulbous part of the abdomen is bent upward and lies above petiole; in Ammophila the abdomen is typically straight or bent downward — see last character of key couplet #3 and Figs. 32A & C on pp. 137-138 of Bohart & Menke(2)(1976), and thumbnails below:
    Podalonia   vs.   Ammophila
Generally, males have weaker reddish markings than females, are more slender, and lack a tarsal rake on the front legs.
Range
Holarctic; widespread in NA
Season
Summer into early fall. In NC, Apr‒Nov (depending on species), typically May‒Oct(3); in MI, Jun‒Oct, typically Jul‒Aug(4)
Food
Adults visit flowers. Larva feed on caterpillars and sawfly lavae provisioned by the female.
Life Cycle
Parasitoids on caterplillars and sawflies. A burrow is dug by the female and an egg is laid in the paralyzed host in the burrow. May be several generations per year.
Remarks
Behavior described in (1)
Print References
Stevens L.E., Menke A.S. (2014) Biogeography of Ammophila (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) in the Grand Canyon ecoregion, southwestern USA. Western N. Am. Naturalist 74: 216‒222. (Full text)
Works Cited
1.The Ammophila wasps of North and Central America (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae)
Arnold S. Menke. 2020. Ammophila Research Institute: Bisbee, Arizona.
2.Sphecid wasps of the world: a generic revision
Richard Mitchell Bohart, Arnold S. Menke. 1976. University of California Press.
3.Insects of North Carolina
C.S. Brimley. 1938. North Carolina Department of Agriculture.
4.The Sphecid Wasps of Michigan (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae: Sphecinae), by M.F. O'Brien
Contributed by Cotinis on 23 March, 2004 - 11:38am
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, Chuck Entz, Aaron Schusteff, v belov, PaleoJon
Last updated 23 January, 2024 - 10:21am

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