Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar

TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Photo#723642
Another interesting wasp (or bee?)  - Hoplisoides punctifrons - female

Another interesting wasp (or bee?) - Hoplisoides punctifrons - Female
Ivanpah Valley, north of New York Mountains, San Bernardino County, California, USA
September 22, 2012
This colorful beauty was rather actively moving among leaves of a milkweed plant (Asclepias erosa). I found its pictured wings and the pronounced punctation of its abdomen, thorax, and head intriguing...as well as the matching "brick-red, white, black" color scheme of the abdomen and hind legs.

Images of this individual: tag all
Another interesting wasp (or bee?)  - Hoplisoides punctifrons - female Another interesting wasp (or bee?)  - Hoplisoides punctifrons - female Another interesting wasp (or bee?)  - Hoplisoides punctifrons - female Another interesting wasp (or bee?)  - Hoplisoides punctifrons - female Another interesting wasp (or bee?)  - Hoplisoides punctifrons - female Another interesting wasp (or bee?)  - Hoplisoides punctifrons - female

Moved
Moved from Hoplisoides. Very nice series of pics!

 
Thank you, Matthias!
I really appreciate your ID effort here...I tried to go through Bohart's 1997 revision, but was unable to make progress.

Do you think this a female? I was thinking it was a male, since I thought there were 13 antennal segments (from the full-size version of the image above). But what I counted as the first two flagellomeres may be a single flagellum. Also, Bohart mentions that females are easily distinguished by the presence a pygidial plate on T-6. At first I couldn't see an indication of that in the 3rd, 5th, or 6th images...though looking again more closely, I'm starting to think I can see a somewhat flattened and laterally edged pygidium.

 
Female
This is a female. The pygidial plate is hard to see on these images. Besides possessing red markings (absent in male) the female also has an additional wing spot near the hind margin of the fore wing. Compare to this image which *might* be a male of the same species:

Moved

 
Thanks again, John
This one was a beauty and I'm glad to learn the genus.

This one also makes me think of Gorytina


I'll be interested to see where it lands.

 
Good Call, Ken
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I've noticed your ID suggestions on a plethora of posts, and it seems like they almost always end up where you thought they be. Sure hope someday I achieve the breadth of knowledge and familiarity you have in recognizing so many groups throughout so many orders! :-)

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.