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Species Dielis plumipes - Feather-legged Scoliid Wasp

Scoliid Wasp - Dielis plumipes - male Wasp, Wasp Mimic, or What? - Dielis plumipes - male a pollinator - Dielis plumipes bee? - Dielis plumipes - female wasps - Dielis plumipes - female Campsomeris  - Dielis plumipes Campsomeris sp? - Dielis plumipes Lynch Unknown Wasp - Dielis plumipes
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)
Superfamily Scolioidea
Family Scoliidae (Scoliid Wasps)
Tribe Campsomerini
Genus Dielis
Species plumipes (Feather-legged Scoliid Wasp)
Other Common Names
Feather-legged Scoliid Wasp
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Dielis plumipes (Drury, 1770)
Campsomeris plumipes (Drury, 1770)
Scolia quadricincta Klug, 1805
Scolia radula Fabricius, 1775 — preoccupied in Campsomeris by Tiphia radula Fabricius, 1775, which is accepted as Radumeris radula (Fabricius, 1775)
Orig. Comb.: Sphex plumipes Drury, 1770
Numbers
3 subspecies/forms(1). With the exception of some co-occurrence of ssp. fossulana and ssp. plumipes in North Carolina, the subspecies are distinctly geographically separate.(2)
1. D. plumipes confluenta: central to midwest (n.AR, CO, IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, NM, OH, OK, SD, n.TX, e.WY)
2. D. plumipes fossulana: Austroriparian / southeastern (AL, AR, FL, GA, LA, MI, NC, SC, e.TX)
3. D. plumipes plumipes: Austral life / east of the Appalachians (DE, MD, NC, NJ, VA)
Size
15-25 mm(1)
Identification
Medium-sized, with long, white body setae; clypeus entirely black; pronotum entirely black; four abdominal bands of ivory to pale yellow.(1) Female additionally with a thick collar of reddish to yellowish setae.


D. plumipes confluenta - female (left) and male (right). Abdominal bands broader in both sexes, males with greenish reflections on the tergum and widely interrupted bands on the sternites. Central to midwest US, west of the Appalachians (plains region)


D. plumipes fossulana - female (left) and male (right). Abdominal bands very narrow in both sexes, females with conspicuously reddish-brown hairs on the pronotum, males with blueish reflections on the tergum and narrowly interrupted bands on the sternites. Southeastern to southcentral US (Austroriparian range)


D. plumipes plumipes - female (left) and male (right). Abdominal bands broader in both sexes, males with greenish reflections on the tergum and widely interrupted bands on the sternites. Northeastern US, east of the Appalachians (Austral life range)
Range
widespread east of the Rocky Mountains
Life Cycle
Scoliid wasps are parasitic upon larvae of soil-inhabiting scarab beetles.(1) Flower visitation records for adults were given by Krombein (1952) for D. p. fossulana, and Kurczewski (1963) reported on the biology of D. p. confluenta.
See Also
Similar Campsomerini of the central US
These species almost exclusively overlap with the narrow-banded subspecies, D. p. fossulana. The exception is D. pilipes, which instead overlaps very slightly with D. p. confluenta.

Dielis pilipes - widespread western to central distribution (mostly absent from Texas, apart from the panhandle and western borders). Both sexes can be distinguished by the brighter yellow markings and the yellow spot on each side of the pronotum. Females additionally white hairs on the pronotum and the abdominal bands composed of semicircular rather than angular markings. Males usually have 5 abdominal bands.


Dielis tejensis - TX. Known only from males. Males have 5 abdominal bands and stripes or spots on the pronotum. It is our only other species of Dielis with an entirely black clypeus.


Dielis tolteca males - southwestern US to w. & s. TX. Where overlap occurs with D. plumipes fossulana, its males can be distinguished by the broader abdominal bands, yellow stripes at the lateral margins of the clypeus, and yellow stripes on the pronotum. Western populations (right) may not have yellow on the pronotum. The legs may be yellow-marked. Most alike to D. dorsata.


Xanthocampsomeris completa - TX (Brewster & Hidalgo Cos.). Both sexes have the front margin of the forewing conspicuously infuscated. Females have red hairs on the head, thorax, and apex of the abdomen and red legs. This is our only species of Xanthoxampsomeris where the females have complete bands. Males have broad abdominal bands, a stripe on the pronotum, and usually two spots on the scutellum (none on the postscutellum). It is our only western-to-central Xanthocampsimeris in which the male has an entirely black clypeus.


Xanthocampsomeris hesterae - TX (Hidalgo Co.). Females have distinctly reddish hairs on the pronotum and apex of the abdomen, reddish legs, and the yellow abdominal markings are narrowly separated into lateral spots. Males have brighter yellow markings, including an entirely yellow clypeus, yellow pronotum, and extensively yellow legs.


Similar Campsomerini of the eastern US
These species almost exclusively overlap with the narrow-banded subspecies, D. p. fossulana. The exception is P. quadrimaculata, overlaps broadly with both D. p. fossulana and D. p. plumipes.

Dielis dorsata males - FL. Where overlap occurs with D. plumipes fossulana, its males can be distinguished by the broader abdominal bands, yellow stripes at the lateral margins of the clypeus, and yellow stripes on the pronotum. The scutellum and postscutellum typically have narrow stripes along the entire width (typically not along the entire width in D. p. fossulana). The legs may be yellow-marked. Most alike to D. tolteca.


Dielis trifasciata nassauensis - FL (Keys). Both sexes have uniformly narrow abdominal bands, much narrower than even in D. p. fossulana and lacking the distinct peaks.


Dielis trifasciata trifasciata - FL. Both sexes can be distinguished by the brighter yellow markings and broader abdominal stripes. Females have only 3 abdominal stripes rather than 4. Males have an entirely yellow clypeus, conspicuous yellow on the legs, and thick stripes on the pronotum, scutellum, and postscutellum.


Pygodasis quadrimaculata males - eastern range (also introduced but uncommon in the midwest). The thorax is usually devoid of yellow markings like in some D. p. fossulana, but the clypeus has yellow lateral spots. Males are incredibly variable in abdominal markings, ranging anywhere from just four spots (T2-T3) to complete banding (T1-T4, incomplete on T5). Those with complete banding can be distinguished by the very broad lateral edges contrasted with a very deep indent at the middle. Unlike all of our Dielis species, the wings are often conspicuously and uniformly infuscated to black rather than subhyaline.


Xanthoxampsomeris fulvohirta - FL. Both sexes are readily distinguished from all other Floridian Campsomerini by the red legs. Females additionally have red hairs on the head, pronotum, and apex of the abdomen and have the abdominal markings as widely separated spots. Males have a yellow pronotum and have the bands narrowly interrupted on T2-T3 (widely separated on T4).
Print References
Krombein, K.V. 1952. Biological and taxonomic observations on the wasps in a coastal area of North Carolina. Wasmann Journal of Biology 10: 257-341.
Kurczewski, F.E. 1963. Biological notes on Campsomeris plumipes confluenta (Say). Entomological News 74: 21-24.