Wasps in many people cause fear, as there is always a chance of being bitten.
But not everyone knows that there are a huge number of species of these insects in the world, many of which differ significantly from the varieties we are familiar with. For example, an earthen wasp: what is this insect and why is it called so?
These insects belong to a huge group, which includes at least ten thousand species. Their representatives can be found all over the world, with the exception of only Antarctica and the Arctic. In addition, an earthen wasp does not occur in high altitude conditions.
There are small species of these insects, whose body length does not exceed two millimeters, but you can often see such wasps that are longer than five centimeters. This distinguishes them from other types of wasps, as well as a kind of “collar” formed by the posterior margin of the pronotum. Shoulder tubercles strongly stand out from its sides, which, as a rule, do not reach the base of the wings.
From the name it can be understood that the earthen wasp belongs to the digging species, but there are also such species that live in the wood of old trees. If you look at their forelegs, it is easy to notice a special comb formed by a dense row of bristles. It is he who is used by insects as a shovel.
Almost all wasps take care of the offspring (with the exception of Vespula and Dolichovespula), but these species stand out even against their background.
They have achieved a high level of skill in the construction of complex nests. In them, wasps lay paralyzed by bites of spiders, eggs are laid directly on the body of which. The larvae emerging from them are always provided with fresh and highly nutritious food.
It should be noted that each “cell” with future wasps is neatly closed with a special cork, which is often made from the same materials from which the nest was built. However, some species use resin from special types of trees.
Most often, an earthen wasp preys on large spiders, caterpillars, flies and beetles, which are eaten in large quantities. Small species often exterminate aphids and lepidopterans. These varieties of wasps are characterized in that they often select only certain species as prey.
Some genera of these wasps exhibit already very complex behavior, which in some ways can already compete with the bee. This is a “progressive” type of feeding of larvae. Some representatives of ammophiles (Ammophila) and the genus Bembix (Bembix) differ in this.
The nest of earthen wasps of this genus strongly resembles a full-fledged hive. The larvae are fed gradually, as they eat their prey, removing the decaying remains of previous victims. Several females are engaged in this at once, who simultaneously take care of several nests at once.
Adults most often feed on nectar of flowers, secretions of aphids and plant juices. In hot time, they gather for a watering near sources of water, and some species are used to “robbing” bees, forcing the latter to throw off the stock of nectar they collected from goiter.
Almost all of them belong to single species, which gather in a group only at the time of the offspring. But some earthen wasps (photos of which are in the article) constantly live in colonies, jointly obtaining food and caring for offspring.