Trypoxylon lactitarse is a species of square-headed wasp in the family Crabronidae.[1][2][3][4] It is found in North, Central, and South America,[1] and said to range from Canada to Argentina.[5] These are fairly common harmless solitary wasps, although as with others of this same genus, the adult males can be observed to guard the nests.[6] This species is well-characterised as nesting in pre-existing cavities which has facilitated ecological studies, as females can be easily attracted to nest in human-made trap-nests.[7] Females construct a linear series of cells that are subdivided by mud partitions.[5][6][8] In the south of range, nesting activity has been recorded to occur throughout the year, although may be more common in certain months.[8][7] They can begin construction of their nests with a layer of mud (at the bottom of the first provisioned cell), followed by the formation of a linear series of 6-8 cells.[9][10]

Trypoxylon lactitarse
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Crabronidae
Tribe: Trypoxylini
Genus: Trypoxylon
Species:
T. lactitarse
Binomial name
Trypoxylon lactitarse
de Saussure, 1867
Synonyms[1]
  • Trypoxylon albopilosum W. Fox, 1891
  • Trypoxylon albopilosum planoense Rohwer, 1909
  • Trypoxylon cinereum Cameron, 1889
  • Trypoxylon striatum Provancher, 1888

Nests are provisioned with spiders captured and paralysed by the female wasp, which lays an egg within each elongate brood cell on one of several incapacitated spiders, which each larva will then consume as food within its own sealed brood cell.[9][10] This species may undergo three or four larval moults as with a similar species Trypoxylon rogenhoferi,[11] until completing their development as pupae inside a black cocoon. Unlike some other cavity nesting wasps, no significant difference was found in the sex of the larvae relative to their brood-cell position. [6]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "Trypoxylon lactitarse". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
  2. ^ "Trypoxylon (Trypargilum) lactitarse". Catalogue of Life. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  3. ^ "Trypoxylon lactitarse". GBIF. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  4. ^ "Trypoxylon lactitarse". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  5. ^ a b Coville, R.E. (1981). "Biological observations on three Trypoxylon wasps in the subgenus Trypargilum from Costa Rica: T. nitidum schulthessi, T. saussurei and T. lactitarse (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae)". The Pan-Pacific Entomologist. 57 (2): 332–340.
  6. ^ a b c Judd, T.M.; Fasnacht, M.P. (2017). "A nutritional profile of the Trap-Nesting Wasp Trypoxylon lactitarse (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae): Comparison of sexes and overwintering and non-overwintering generations". Insects. 8 (1): 3. doi:10.3390/insects8010003. PMC 5371931. PMID 28054943.
  7. ^ a b Nascimento, A.L.O.; Garófalo, C.A. (2014). "Trap-nesting solitary wasps (Hymenoptera: Aculeata) in an insular landscape: Mortality rates for immature wasps, parasitism, and sex ratios". Sociobiology. 61 (2): 207–217. doi:10.13102/sociobiology.v61i2.207-217.
  8. ^ a b Camillo, E.; Brescovit, A.D. (1999). "Spiders (Araneae) captured by Trypoxylon (Trypargilum) lactitarse (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) in southeastern Brazil". Revista de Biología Tropical. 47 (1–2): 151–162. ISSN 0034-7744.
  9. ^ a b Buschini, M.L.T.; Niesing, F.; Wolff, L.L. (2006). "Nesting biology of Trypoxylon (Trypargilum) lactitarse Saussure (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae) in trap-nests in Southern Brazil". Brazilian Journal of Biology. 66 (3): 919–929. doi:10.1590/S1519-69842006000500018. ISSN 1519-6984. PMID 17119840.
  10. ^ a b Buschini, M.L.T.; Borba, N.A.; Brescovit, A.D. (2008). "Patterns of prey selection of Trypoxylon (Trypargilum) lactitarse Saussure (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) in southern Brazil". Brazilian Journal of Biology. 68 (3): 519–528. doi:10.1590/S1519-69842008000300008. ISSN 1519-6984. PMID 18833472.
  11. ^ Fox, E. G.P.; Solis, D.R.; Rossi, M.L.; Feitosa, R.M; Brescovit, A.D. (2012). "The larval morphology and nest habits of Trypoxylon (Trypargilum) rogenhoferi Kohl 1884 (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Crabronidae)" (PDF). Zootaxa. 3251 (1): 47. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3251.1.3. hdl:11449/733. ISSN 1175-5334.
edit