Isodontia elegans, also known as the elegant grass-carrying wasp, is a species of solitary, nest-provisioning,[2] thread-waisted wasp in the family Sphecidae that hunts orthopterans (grasshoppers, crickets, bush crickets, locusts, etc.).[1][3][4][5]
| Isodontia elegans | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Sphecidae |
| Tribe: | Sphecini |
| Genus: | Isodontia |
| Species: | I. elegans
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| Binomial name | |
| Isodontia elegans | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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I. elegans is described as having a generally black-color body, rusty-red to yellowish abdomen, and see-through wings with some tinting.[6] They were originally considered to be a species of western and southern North America,[6] but have been found in the northeastern corner of the continent in increasing numbers.[5] They seem to use pre-existing holes created by other insects for their nests and then outfit them with "finely chewed fibers of dead weeds and grass."[6] The grass serves as a defensive barrier at one end of the nest; it keeps parasites from entering while the larvae feed on the paralyzed insects which have been stored in the nursery.[7]
Isodontia elegans may be attracted to same kind of nest holes that appeal to blue orchard mason bees.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b "Isodontia elegans Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
- ^ a b Spendal, O'Neill & Delphia (2021), p. 559.
- ^ "Isodontia elegans species details". Catalogue of Life. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
- ^ "Isodontia elegans". GBIF. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
- ^ a b "Isodontia elegans Species Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
- ^ a b c Fernald, Henry Torsey (1906). The Digger Wasps of North America and the West Indies Belonging to the Subfamily Chlorioninae. United States National Museum. pp. 361–364.
- ^ Ainslie, C. N. (November 1924). "Note on the Nesting Habits of Chlorion Elegans". The Canadian Entomologist. 56 (11): 269–270. doi:10.4039/Ent56269-11. ISSN 0008-347X.
- Spendal, Ronald C.; O'Neill, Kevin M.; Delphia, Casey M. (2021-12-15). "Nesting Biology and Offspring Development of the Cavity-Nesting Solitary Wasp Isodontia elegans (F. Smith) from Trap-Nests in Oregon". Western North American Naturalist. 81 (4). doi:10.3398/064.081.0408. ISSN 1527-0904. ProQuest 2619125096.
External links
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Media related to Isodontia elegans at Wikimedia Commons
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