onthophagus is a genus of dung beetles in the onthophagini tribe of the wider scarab beetle family , scarabaeidae .

it is the most species-rich and widespread genus in the subfamily scarabaeinae ( the ' true ' dung beetles ) , with a global distribution .

onthophagus

habitus ( oblique and lateral views ) of onthophagus males ( holotypes , except 3–4 ) . 1–2 onthophagus abmisibilus 3–4 onthophagus catenatus , vicinity of mt hagen 5–6 onthophagus kokodanus kokodanus 7–8 onthophagus kokodanus hagenaltus .
this scarab could be confused with onthophagus of similar color and medium size ( more than 10 mm ) : onthophagus nigriventris and digitonthophagus gazella .
onthophagus males ( holotypes , except 13 , 15 , 18 ) . 9–11 , 21 onthophagus kokosquamatus ; 12 , 17 onthophagus abmisibilus ; 13 , 18 onthophagus catenatus , vicinity of mt hagen 14 , 15 , 19 onthophagus kokodanus kokodanus , 15 minor male e pt moresby 16 , 20 onthophagus k hagenaltus . 9–10 habitus ( oblique and lateral views ) 11–16 head and pronotum in dorsofrontal view 17–21 parameres in lateral view ( scales 1 mm ) .
onthophagus nigriventris male genitalia , caudal view ; photo by e . l . engasser
onthophagus nigriventris male genitalia , lateral view ; photo by e . l . engasser
onthophagus kokodanus hagenaltus subsp . n . – papua new guinea ( western highlands )
révision des onthophagus de l’archipel indo - néerlandais , avec description des espèces nouvelles .
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les onthophagus ( coleoptera , scarabaeidae ) des îles philippines
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all four species included in the onthophagus catenatus group are formally placed in the nominotypical subgenus .
onthophagus kokodanus kokodanus subsp . n . – papua new guinea ( e of port moresby )
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neue onthophagus - arten von neu - guinea and den benachbarten inseln
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hunt j , simmons lw . status - dependent selection in the dimorphic beetle onthophagus taurus .
four new taxa from new guinea are proposed in the dung beetle genus onthophagus latreille , 1802 , all in the operational group of onthophagus catenatus lansberge , 1883 . the group is discussed , defined , and the five taxa included are listed , keyed , and diagnosed . three new species are described : onthophagus abmisibilus ( from west new guinea , indonesia ) , onthophagus kokodanus , onthophagus kokosquamatus ( both from papua new guinea ) . one new species comprises a lowland and an upland subspecies : onthophagus kokodanus kokodanus and kokodanus hagenaltus ( both in papua new guinea ) .
phylogenetics and biogeography of the dung beetle genus onthophagus inferred from mitochondrial genomes . - pubmed - ncbi
taxonomy of papuasian onthophagus : twenty new species and their relatives ( coleoptera : scarabaeidae : scarabaeinae ) .
new guinea onthophagus : taxonomy of ten new small , unicolour species ( coleoptera : scarabaeidae : scarabaeinae ) .
new guinea onthophagus : taxonomy of ten small , unicolored new species ( coleoptera : scarabaeidae : scarabaeinae ) .
genital morphology and fertilization success in the dung beetle onthophagus taurus : an example of sexually selected male genitalia .
hunt j , simmons lw . maternal and paternal effects on offspring phenotype in the dung beetle onthophagus taurus .
diversity in the weapons of sexual selection : horn evolution in the beetle genus onthophagus ( coleoptera : scarabaeidae ) .
the mega - diverse subcosmopolitan genus onthophagus is currently represented by approximately 2 , 000 species worldwide ( scarabnet 2009 ) .
details of morphology of onthophagus . 22–26 onthophagus abmisibilus , holotype 27–32 onthophagus catenatus , male , vicinity of mt hagen 32 female , n pt moresby 22 , 27 , 32 head in dorsal view 23 , 28 pronotum in dorsal view 24 , 29 elytron in dorsal view 25 , 30 protibia , upper side 26 , 31 metatibia , underside . scales 1 mm .
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a new record of onthophagus ( sunenaga ) wallacei ( coleoptera , scarabaeidae ) from halmahera , maluku
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new guinea onthophagus : taxonomy of ten small , unicolored new species ( coleoptera : scarabaeidae : scarabaeinae ) . - pubmed - ncbi
this species could be confused with the similarly colored and medum - sized ( more than 10 mm ) digitonthophagus gazella and onthophagus sagittarius .
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six new taxon [ sic ] of the subgenus indachoriusof the genus onthophagus ( coleoptera : scarabaeidae ) from borneo
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diversity in the weapons of sexual selection : horn evolution in the beetle genus onthophagus ( coleoptera : scarabaeidae ) . - pubmed - ncbi
moczek ap , emlen dj . male horn dimorphism in the scarab beetle , onthophagus taurus : do alternative reproductive tactics favour alternative phenotypes ?
huijbregts j ( 2012 ) . new guinea onthophagus : taxonomy of ten small , unicolored new species ( coleoptera : scarabaeidae : scarabaeinae ) .
what made you want to look up onthophagus ? please tell us where you read or heard it ( including the quote , if possible ) .
reiche , l . ( 1840 ) note sur deux espèces d ' onthophagus . revue et magasin de zoologie , pure et appliquée , 3 , 243–244 .
no reason is provided by smith ( 2009 : 43 ) for treating the senior name onthophagus curvicornis latreille 1812 as synonym of the junior name onthophagus incensus say 1835 . it may be that there is a homonymy , or that the senior name is for some reason unavailable , but further research would be required to determine this
simonnet f , moczek ap ( 2011 ) conservation and diversification of gene function during mouthpart development in onthophagus beetles . evol dev 13 : 280 - 289 . doi :
to cite this page : roof , j . 1999 .
onthophagus australis
( on - line ) , animal diversity web . accessed july 09 , 2018 at urltoken
google scholar ( 2016 ) [ digital resource with search terms :
digitonthophagus gazella
or
onthophagus gazella
] . available from urltoken [ accessed 25 august 2016 ] .
onthophagus species are boxed up in red . this picture is taken in the raffles museum of biodiversity research , national university of singapore , singapore . picture by m . y neo .
as o . semifex is not individually studied till date , many of its ecology habits are not well documented . however , their characteristics can be possibly inferred from the other onthophagus relatives .
the red arrows indicate the cupreous appearance on the onthophagus species . this picture is taken in the raffles musuem of biodiveristy research , national university of singapore , singapore . picture is by m . y . neo
details of morphology of onthophagus kokosquamatus ( male holotype ) 45 head in dorsal view 46 pronotum and head armature in dorsal view 47 elytron in dorsal view 48 protibia , upper side 49 metatibia , underside . scales 1 mm .
details of morphology of onthophagus ( holotypes , except 38 , 44 ) . 33–38 o . k . kokodanus , 38 female paratype , e pt moresby 39–44 onthophagus kokodanus hagenaltus 44 minor male paratype , mt hagen 33 , 38 , 39 , 44 head in dorsal view 34 , 40 pronotum and head armature in dorsal view 35 , 41 elytron in dorsal view 36 , 42 protibia , upper side 37 , 43 metatibia , underside . scales 1 mm .
scarab beetles of the genus onthophagus latreille north of mexico ( coleoptera : scarabaeidae ) howden h . f . , cartwright o . l . 1963 . proc . u . s . nat . mus . 114 : 1 - 135 .
krikken , j . & huijbregts , j . ( 2008 ) . distinguishing the sundaland species in the onthophagus ( parascatonomus ) aurifex group ( coleoptera : scarabaeidae : scarabaeinae ) . tijdschrift voor entomologie . pp . 151 : 173 - 185 .
emlen , d . j . & nijhout , f . h . ( 1999 ) . hormal control of male horn length dimorphism in the dung beetle onthophagus taurus ( coleoptera : scarabaeidae ) . journal of insect physiology . pp . 45 : 45 - 53 .
onthophagus fracticornis ( preyssler , 1790 ) : tronquet ( 2014 ) : 387 . [ statut pour la france métropolitaine ] tronquet , m . [ coord . ] 2014 . catalogue des coléoptères de france . revue de l’association roussillonnaise d’entomologie , 23 ( supplément ) : 1 - 1052 .
your discussions , opinions and reviews for this site will be greatly appreciated . if you have any new information on onthophagus semifex that you wish to be added in , do leave your reference material and your contact in the discussion box below . your request will be attended as soon as possible .
onthophagus is the most diverse tunneling dung beetle genus , with over 2 , 000 species described [ 32 ] . in the united states alone , there are at least 35 native onthophagus spp . [ 32 ] and at least 5 more introduced , naturalized , non - native species [ 33 – 35 ] . all of these species are known to be dung specialists . onthophagus taurus , the bull - headed dung beetle , is one of the most abundant dung beetles specialized on cattle dung . it is a native of the mediterranean , was first found in florida in 1974 [ 36 ] , and has increased its distribution throughout the u . s . ever since [ 37 ] . although native dung beetles such as o . hecate and o . pennsylvanicus are also found in agricultural habitats , o . taurus is the most abundant beetle in these settings . however , o . taurus is uncommon in non - agricultural ecosystems [ 37 ] .
citation : estes am , hearn dj , snell - rood ec , feindler m , feeser k , abebe t , et al . ( 2013 ) brood ball - mediated transmission of microbiome members in the dung beetle , onthophagus taurus ( coleoptera : scarabaeidae ) . plos one 8 ( 11 ) : e79061 . urltoken
this dataset contains the digitized treatments in plazi based on the original journal article krikken , j . , huijbregts , j . ( 2013 ) : new guinea onthophagus : taxonomy of ten small , unicolored new species ( coleoptera : scarabaeidae : scarabaeinae ) . zootaxa 3619 ( 5 ) : 501 - 525 , doi :
bianchin , i . , alves , r . g . o . & koller , w . w . ( 1998 ) efeito de carrapaticidas / inseticidas “pour - on” sobre adultos do besouro coprófago africano onthophagus gazella fabr . ( coleoptera : scarabaeidae ) . anais da sociedade entomológica do brasil , 27 , 275–279 . urltoken
the presence of an isolated conical protrusion right in front of the horns is shared with other new guinea species , like onthophagus heurni gillet , 1930 and joliveti paulian , 1973 , which may be confusing . the males of both these species , however , have on their horns , which are more or less erect , a distinct basal - internal lobe or denticle , and their eyes are narrow .
there are currently six onthophagus species that can still be found in the uk ( extant species ) and two that are now thought to be extinct . in many species , males have a noticeably pointed horn on the posterior margin of the head . the beetles can also be sexed by looking at the abdomen – in females the pygidium is uniform in width and , in males it is narrower in the middle ( see image below ) .
based on the nutritionally incomplete diet dung provides , the nesting behavior of the female , and the larval feeding behavior , we hypothesize that a vertically transmitted microbiome is present that is transmitted through the brood ball in the dung beetle , onthophagus taurus . here we use a sterile rearing technique along with culture based and molecular methods to assess the potential for microbiome transmission and inheritance of the bull headed dung beetle , o . taurus , through the brood ball .
established . there is conflicting information regarding the arrival of this species to hawaii . markin and yoshioka ( 1998 ) reported that onthophagus sagittarius was purposely released on oahu in 1957 and 1958 . however , harris et al . ( 1982 ) stated that the species was accidentally introduced . regardless , this scarab is now established on both molokai and oahu , where it is one of the most commonly encountered dung beetles ( nishida , 2002 ; harris et al . , 1982 ) .
many of the species on earth have yet to be described or documented , thus they are still unknown and not recognized for their ecological influences on nature and man . luckily for onthophagus semifex , several aspects of its biology are described in the year 2008 , though it is still relatively incomplete and insufficient as compared to many other renowned animals . but to be able to gain an official name , this little dung beetle is fortunate enough to enter the encyclopedia of life before its extinction .
o . semifex , similar to other onthophagus tropical dung beetles , may locate their food resource by smell . they fly in a zig - zag manner , usually one meter or less above ground and land close to the source of the odour . they are also known to be tunnellers , which they bury the dung in preformed burrows . they transport their food fast owing to resource competition by other dung beetles , necrophagous beetles and flies ( hanski , 1989 ; philips et al . , 2004 ) .
like related onthophagus species , this nocturnal scarab is a dung tunneler , with the female creating a burrow under or near a fresh dung source ( simmons and emlen , 2008 ) . the burrow is then provisioned with dung in the form of brood balls . each ball is impregnated with an egg ; larval development occurs within the brood ball . this species is confined to tropical areas that experience warm , wet summers , and annual rainfall over 800 mm ( 31 . 5 in ) ( edwards , 2007 ) .
till date , there are currently eight dung beetle representatives belonging to the o . aurifex species group , under the genus onthophagus of latreille , 1802 . o . aurifex was made the ‘type’ of this group . furthermore the group has been divided into two complexes - the o . aurifex complex and the o . sarawacus complex in a recent article published by tarasov et al . ( 2010 ) . in this , the authors classified four representatives in the o . aurifex complex , which are characterized by their shiny metallic upper - side body .
figures 1 – 8 . habitus ( oblique view ) of onthophagus species , with indication of body length . 1 , o . acerus , holotype , , 6 mm ; 2 , o . aceroides , holotype , 5 mm ; 3 , o . baiyericus , holotype , 5 mm ; 4 , o . mimikanus , female holotype , 6 mm ; 5 , o . kokopygus , holotype , 3 mm ; 6 , o . daymanus , holotype , 4 . 5 mm ; 7 , o . kokocellosus , holotype , 4 . 5 mm ; 8 , o . bituberoculus , female paratype , timika , 7 mm .
total body length 10 . 0–13 . 0 mm ( 0 . 39–0 . 52 in ) . body shape oval ; may be caked in dung . color dark brown ; elytra pale brown . medium - sized onthophagus , more than 10 mm . clypeal apex rounded to sinuate ; not strongly produced or reflexed in either sex . head of male with paired tusk - like horns on the clypeus ; female with single horn on the frons . ocular canthus not completely dividing eye . pronotum with anterior angle rounded . pronotum of male with broad , hump - like process ; female with spine - like process . front tibia of male and female similar . scutellum absent .
diagnosis . clypeal apex bidentate ; major males have their denticles set on a reflexed lobe ( emargination between denticles not going down to base of lobe ) , this lobe on either side delimited by a sinuate border ( contrary to o . dissidentatus ) . clypeus and frons in both sexes without any further protrusions ( contrary to o . dissidentatus ) . onthophagus kokodentatus usually shiny black ( occasionally with metallic lustre ) ; most of dorsum distinctly , finely punctate , punctation varying in strength . eye foramina narrow . pronotum entirely evenly convex , lateral and basal borders evenly , widely rounded . proximal serrate section of protibia long ( 8 – 10 very small denticles ) . pygidium simply punctate . body length usually 3 . 5 – 4 . 5 mm .
adults fly into the dung pat to feed and mate . beneath the dung pat , the juvenile life stages of onthophagus taurus are isolated in the brood chamber of the brood balls constructed by the female beetles in tunnels . females lay several brood balls in each tunnel that would all be at the same developmental stage . however , for illustrative purposes all life stages are represented in one tunnel . these stages include the : ( a ) egg , ( b ) 1 st larval instar , ( c ) 2 nd larval instar , ( d ) 3 rd larval instar , ( e ) pupa , and ( f ) an eclosing adult beetle that is tunneling toward the surface . the brood ball chamber is larger with each successive life stage as the larva feeds on the chamber walls within the brood ball . the top inset shows ( g ) the fecal pedestal the egg is positioned upon in brood ball . the bottom inset shows ( h ) the larval instar feeding on the walls of the brood ball chamber .
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37 in our area , 130 in the new world , > 1500 spp . total
the scarabaeoid beetles of nebraska brett c . ratcliffe & m . j . paulsen . 2008 . university of nebraska state museum , vol 22 , 570 pp .
peterson field guides : beetles richard e . white . 1983 . houghton mifflin company .
scarab beetles ( coleoptera : scarabaeidae ) of south carolina phillip j . harpootlian . 2001 . clemson university public service .
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this species tends to be found in locations with a slightly heavier soil type i . e . some clay content . the brood burrows are vertically constructed with no side chambers and the brood balls are stacked one on top of the other .
distribution : south to central england and wales , absent from north england and scotland .
this beetle was formerly found in good numbers in hampshire but has declined massively in this area . it is now most frequently found in the mendip hills in somerset but , even here it remains rare .
distribution : south england , less common central england and wales . absent from scotland .
this species prefers alluvial soils and it is therefore most often found on riverside pastures and flood plains .
this species was widespread but is now rare . it is a sandy soils specialist – most often found on sand dunes .
a large and very distinctive looking beetle . the males have two long curved horns which are lacking in the female .
distribution : the last mainland record for this species was in the 1800’s . it is still present in the channel islands .
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1913 ) , which shows a distribution restricted to tropical east african highlands and cool temperate highlands of south africa .
tunnelling species are predominantly from cattle dung with a few records from buffalo , giant forest hog , zebra , and elephant dung ( australian csiro 1970 - 1986 , unpublished records ) . it has been recorded entirely from finer - grained soils , especially lateritic sandy clay loam , but occasionally also on black cotton clay or sandy loam . all records are from open vegetation , particularly extensive highland pastures and grassland , but it has occasionally been found in pastures within forest or woodland clearings .
some environmental characteristics for 48 locality records are as follows : altitude : mean : 1 , 929 ± 357 ( s . d . ) , range : 812 - 2 , 509 m ; annual rainfall : mean : 1 , 004 ± 254 ( s . d . ) , range : 538 - 1 , 623 mm ; annual temperature : mean : 17 . 0 ± 2 . 3 ( s . d . ) , range : 13 . 9 - 23 . 4 o c ( max . + min . / 2 ) .
although this species is clustered around forested highlands , primarily in east africa , it has been frequently collected on cattle dung in open vegetation , which suggests that it is not affected by any major threats to forest habitats .
there are no species - specific conservation actions in place for this species , and it is unlikely that any actions are required at present , as it is frequently recorded in the open vegetation of farming areas .
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east africa . this species is native to moist highlands in eastern africa . it also was introduced to australia ( tyndale - biscoe , 1990 ) .
none . this species feeds on dung as both an adult and larva . there are no records of this beetle feeding on live plant tissues .
( tyndale - biscoe , 1990 ) : adults of this diurnal species live 2–4 months . during that time , adults actively fly in search of fresh dung . females create oval - shaped brood balls in burrows constructed under or near dung . development from egg to adult requires 4–7 weeks . there are multiple generations per year .
none . this species recycles dung and is beneficial for ranching and farming in hawaii . primarily being a dung feeder , this species has never been recorded damaging crop or ornamental plants . additionally , this species is not a threat to native dung beetles because none occur in hawaii or guam .
established . in hawaii , this species was imported in 1975 to big island and maui to combat the horn fly ( haematobia irritans ) , a biting pest of livestock ( markin and yoshioka , 1998 ) . it is established in the highlands of both islands , being rare on maui ( krushelnycky et al . , 2007 ) but more common on big island ( markin and yoshioka , 1998 ) .
not established or recorded . there are no records of this species from guam .
major males are readily separated by examining the head armature ( o . nigriventris lacking horns on head versus d . gazella with 2 short , upward curving horns and o . sagittarius with 2 tusk - like horns ) .
minor males and females can be separated by examining base of the head ( o . nigriventris with a sinuate ridge versus d . gazella with straight , transverse ridge versus o . sagittarius with single horn ) .
southeastern asia . this species is native to southeastern asia , where it has been recorded from malaysia , indochina ( hawaiian entomological society , 1964 ) , india ( chandra , 2000 ) , and sri lanka ( edwards , 2007 ) . this species was introduced to australia ( edwards , 2007 ) .
none . this species recycles dung and is beneficial for ranching and farming in hawaii . primarily being a dung feeder , this species has never been recorded damaging crop or ornamental plants . additionally , this scarab is not a threat to native dung beetles because none occur in hawaii or guam .
major males of these species can quickly be distinguished by examination of the head armature ( o . sagittarius with two tusk - like horns on the clypeus versus o . nigriventris without horns or ridges , d . gazella with two short , upward curving horns at the base of the head ) .
females and can be separated by examining the base of the head ( o . sagittarius with a single horn o . nigriventris with a sinuate ridge , d . gazella with a straight , transverse ridge ) .
the range of the native dung beetle is over most of southeastern australia . it can be found from southern queensland to tasmania and south australia .
the most distinctive feature is the segmented antennae . this antennae forms a club containing three to seven leaves . these leaves can be expanded or folded together to form one compact club . the beetle is brightly colored . the surface of the dung beetle ' s head varies , but it is short , broad , and partially deflexed . the eyes are oval and prominent . the wings are large and well - developed .
native dung beetles emerge mainly during late summer into fall . for the first several weeks they are in a
maturation feeding stage
. a majority of beetles are in the adult stage during the winter . ocassionally eggs are laid in the fall , which then emerge in spring .
it is unclear what the exact function of food balls is in the life cycle of the native dung beetle . while most beetles store dung in food chambers before reproduction , the native dung beetle forms food balls during reproduction . this leads to
being the only beetle found in dung when the first population of bush flies begin oviposition in the spring .
living in australia , new zealand , tasmania , new guinea and associated islands .
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror - image halves . animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides , as well as anterior and posterior ends . synapomorphy of the bilateria .
the area in which the animal is naturally found , the region in which it is endemic .
a terrestrial biome . savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy . extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical africa and south america , and in australia .
a grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees , a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest . see also tropical savanna and grassland biome .
a terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes ( > 23 . 5° n or s latitude ) . vegetation is made up mostly of grasses , the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available . fire and grazing are important in the long - term maintenance of grasslands .
the beetles of the united states . ross arnett . the american entomological institute . loudonville , new york . 1968 .
phenology of o . australis . marina tyndale - biscoe and josephine walker . australian journal of zoology . volume 40 ( 3 ) .
disclaimer : the animal diversity web is an educational resource written largely by and for college students . adw doesn ' t cover all species in the world , nor does it include all the latest scientific information about organisms we describe . though we edit our accounts for accuracy , we cannot guarantee all information in those accounts . while adw staff and contributors provide references to books and websites that we believe are reputable , we cannot necessarily endorse the contents of references beyond our control .
this material is based upon work supported by the national science foundation grants drl 0089283 , drl 0628151 , due 0633095 , drl 0918590 , and due 1122742 . additional support has come from the marisla foundation , um college of literature , science , and the arts , museum of zoology , and information and technology services .
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breeschoten t 1 , doorenweerd c 2 , tarasov s 3 , vogler ap 4 .
department of life sciences , natural history museum , cromwell road , london sw7 5bd , united kingdom ; naturalis biodiversity center , darwinweg 2 , 2333 cr leiden , the netherlands ; institute biology leiden , leiden university , sylviusweg 72 , 2333 be leiden , the netherlands . electronic address : thijmen . breeschoten @ gmail . com .
naturalis biodiversity center , darwinweg 2 , 2333 cr leiden , the netherlands ; institute for biodiversity and ecosystem dynamics , university of amsterdam , science park 904 , 1098 xh amsterdam , the netherlands .
national institute for mathematical and biological synthesis , university of tennessee , 1122 volunteer blvd , ste . 106 , knoxville , tn 37996 , usa .
department of life sciences , natural history museum , cromwell road , london sw7 5bd , united kingdom ; department of life sciences , silwood park campus , imperial college london , buckhurst road , ascot sl5 7py , united kingdom .
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towson university , department of biological sciences , baltimore , maryland , united states of america , j . craig venter institute , inc . , plant genomics , rockville , maryland , united states of america ,
current address : department of ecology , evolution , and behavior , university of minnesota , st . paul , minnesota , united states of america
contributed equally to this work with : julie c . dunning hotopp , armin p . moczek
copyright : © 2013 estes et al . this is an open - access article distributed under the terms of the creative commons attribution license , which permits unrestricted use , distribution , and reproduction in any medium , provided the original author and source are credited .
funding : this research was supported in part through funds from : the towson university fisher college undergraduate research awards ( kf , ta ) , a towson university undergraduate research award ( kf ) , orchid society of arizona funding ( ame ) , nsf reu dbi0552654 ( mf ) , nsf ios 0445661 ( am ) , nsf ios 0718522 ( am ) , and state of maryland internal funds ( jdh ) . the funders had no role in study design , data collection and analysis , decision to publish , or preparation of the manuscript .
although it may seem surprising that such diverse insects have radiated onto a nutritionally - poor resource , mutualistic symbioses between bacteria and their eukaryotic hosts allow animals to feed on a diversity of diets that would otherwise be inaccessible to the host . such beneficial endosymbionts can provide essential amino acids and vitamins lacking in the host diet , or they can synthesize novel enzymes , such as cellulases and hydrolases , to degrade otherwise indigestible materials like cellulose , lignin , and chitin [ 9 , 10 ] . these mutualisms are seen in animals ranging from cellulose feeding vertebrates to wood - , sap - , and blood - feeding insects [ 9 ] . in insects , mutualistic endosymbionts frequently supplement the host with essential amino acids and vitamins missing from their food source [ 10 , 11 ] . this supplementation may be provided primarily by one symbiont species , as in the aphid - buchnera system [ 12 , 13 ] , or by a community of symbionts , such as in termites [ 14 , 15 ] .
no matter the number of beneficial endosymbionts , the faithful transmission of these specific mutualists from parent to offspring is essential for offspring survival . there are two broad categories of transmission : vertical transmission , where symbionts are acquired from the parent , and horizontal transmission , where they are not [ 9 , 16 ] . in the dung beetle system , horizontal transmission could be from many sources including adult siblings , other insect taxa including other species of dung beetles , and host dung . vertical transmission is the dominant transmission type in evolutionarily stable , obligate insect - bacterial nutritional mutualisms . vertically transmitted endosymbionts are frequently transmitted transovarially , though alternate methods of transmission from parents to offspring are known [ 9 , 16 ] . these include endosymbiont transmission through proctodeal trophallaxis [ 17 ] , milk glands [ 18 , 19 ] , coprophagy [ 20 ] , egg smearing [ 21 , 22 ] , capsules [ 23 ] , and brood chambers [ 24 ] .
the clovr pipeline with chimera check [ 51 ] was run on 275 sequences for a 1425 bp amplicon of the 16s rrna gene . clovr uses scripts from qiime [ 52 ] to cluster reads into operational taxonomic units ( otus ) , select representative sequences from each otu , and use the ribosomal database naïve bayesian classifier ( 0 . 5 confidence interval ) to assign each otu to a known taxon [ 53 ] . the nucleotide sequence identity within an otu is 95 % . otu’s ( n = 22 ) that had less than an 80 % confidence with rdp were not classified [ 54 , 55 ] . clovr uses scripts from mothur [ 56 ] to plot rarefaction curves of richness and diversity , which were calculated every five sequences [ 53 , 57 ] .
to assess the relatedness of 16s rrna sequences , sequences were aligned with muscle v3 . 7 [
] , visualized and trimmed with bioedit v7 . 1 . 3 . 0 [
substitution model , random seeds of 12345 , and 100 bootstraps . the best tree as ascertained by raxml is shown and is decorated with symbols denoting the key characteristics of the sample . percent similarity was determined between all sequences (
to compare the microbiome community composition of the cultured isolates to the microbiome community found using molecular methods , all cultured isolates were screened using previously described degenerate primer sets designed for 10 single copy loci . the
] amplified the majority of the cultured isolates . cultured isolates that amplified with the
amplicons sequenced from cultured bacteria isolated from the dung beetle larval digestive system . for the constrained analysis , the concatenated
from cultured isolates : kf193370 - kf193385 ) . phylogenetic trees and amino acid alignments used for phylogenetic inference have been deposited in dryad
in order to assess the transmission pattern of the microbiome , dung beetles needed to be both surface sterilized and reared aseptically . beetle offspring were surface sterilized by washing with dilute bleach and detergent followed by two water rinses . no 16s rrna pcr amplicons were observed for dna extracted from the rinse water from surface sterilized beetles ( figure s1 , lane rw ) . under the same conditions , dna extracted from bactrocera oleae , the olive fruit fly , which is known to have bacterial symbionts that amplify with the primer pair 10f - 1507r [ 21 , 62 ] yielded the ~ 1500 bp amplicon and served as a positive control ( figure s1 , lane + ) . the negative control with sterile water as the template did not produce an amplicon ( figure s1 , lane - ) . this experiment was repeated two additional times with the same results .
to ensure that bacteria were not living or that exogenous dna could not be amplified from the dung , dna was extracted from both frozen and autoclaved dung . the ~ 1500 - bp 16s rrna amplicon could not be obtained from either the frozen or autoclaved dung ( figure s1 , lane fd and ad ) . when the bactrocera oleae positive control was added to these same negative control samples , a 1490 bp product was formed demonstrating that the lack of amplification was not due to the differential presence of inhibitors of the pcr reaction ( figure s1 , lane ad + and ad + + ) . no amplicons were formed from the dna of the autoclaved water or autoclaved soil ( figure s1 , lanes aw and as ) . amplicons were produced in fresh , unautoclaved , unfrozen dung ( figure s1 , lane ug ) and the dna extracted from the homogenized digestive system of the 3 rd larval instar ( figure s1 , lane gut ) . this experiment was repeated two additional times with the same results .
otus were assigned using the clovr pipeline with a 95 % threshold as described in the methods for the 275 16s rrna sequences obtained . predicted chimeric sequences ( n = 4 ) as well as sequences shorter than 470 bp ( n = 6 ) were discarded . from the 265 remaining sequences , 71 otus were identified across 19 individuals . of those 71 otus , 49 otus were classified to the family level , 4 to the phylum level , and 4 could not be classified further than “root” ( figures 3 , 4 , and 5 ) . the most abundant genus found across all samples was enterobacter ( figures 3 , 4 , and 5 ) .
the relative abundance of each taxon is shown for each sample . enterobacteriaceae ( bright blue ) were found in 95 % of the samples , in all populations , and all life stages . other major components include bacteria in the comamonadaceae ( green ) and pseudomonadaceae ( bluish purple ) . sample names are abbreviated as follows : 1l ( 1 st instar larva ) , 2l ( 2 nd instar larva ) , 3l ( 3 rd instar larva ) , pu ( pupa ) , ci ( cultured isolates ) , fp ( female parent ) , in ( indiana population ) , and nc ( north carolina population ) . the number after the life stage indicates different individuals sampled .
bacterial otus identified in qiime are arranged in a bulls - eye configuration with the most commonly occurring group in the yellow center , those occurring in two or more individuals in the blue circle , and those genera occurring only one time in the outermost rim . the lowest common ancestor qiime classification is given and may be at the genus , family , or class level and as such may overlap . enterobacter was found in offspring of all parental females and in 68 % of the individuals . samples denoted with a star are those otus that were found using both culture - dependent and - independent techniques .
an unrooted phylogenomic tree based on 287 loci from 1095 sequenced bacterial genomes was made as a skeletal tree on which was placed the lepa and gyrb sequences from 16 bacterial cultures isolated from the digestive system of four different 3 rd instar larvae from female parent 2 from the north carolina population . this analysis placed the isolates sister to ( a ) providencia stuartii , ( b ) enterobacter cloacae , ( c ) pusillimonas , ( d ) pedobacter heparinus , and ( e ) lysinibacillus sphaericus .
several offspring and their female parents have bacteria with 100 % identical 16s rrna sequencing , suggesting vertical transmission through the brood ball and its contents ( figure s3 and table s3 ) . for example in the north carolina samples , one sequence was recovered five times from the female parent , four times from the 2 nd instar larva , and five times from the 3 rd instar larvae ( table s3 ) . additionally , otu’s classified as alcaligenes and pasteurella are similar between one of the female parents and the cultured isolates from a different female parent . deeper sequencing of individuals may reveal more shared bacterial otus .
rarefaction curves of the microbial community in several larvae and the in parental female beetle suggests that additional sampling was needed to identify additional taxa in the microbiome ( figure s4 ) . the rarefaction curves of the nc parental female beetle ( 35 sequenced clones ) and of a second larval instar ( 20 sequenced clones ) suggests that microbiome taxonomic sampling to be close to saturation ( figure s4 ) . the highest bacterial taxonomic richness was isolated from the larval samples and the in parental female , and lower richness was sampled in pupae and in the nc parental female . however , different primer sets and deeper sampling may amplify a wider diversity of bacterial taxa .
these initial results suggest that deeper sequencing of individuals may reveal more shared bacterial otus . the primers used are biased for amplifying γ - proteobacteria , thus additional taxa may be identified using different primers . lastly , some bacteria from the dung also may have a role in the microbiome of beetles in the wild . while , it is not a subject of this study such studies may be fruitful .
collectively , the sterile rearing conditions , overlap of the microbiome between female parent and offspring , specialized dung processing behavior , and bacterial colonies found in the matrix on the brood ball chamber walls , but absent from other locations in the brood ball , suggest that the o . taurus microbiome is maternally transmitted via the brood ball .
the transmission from mother through the brood ball to offspring may be essential for provisioning specific beetle endosymbionts to the offspring since dung beetles develop in an environment rich with other microbes that were excreted from the digestive tract of the mammalian host , as well as bacteria from the soil . thus , the brood ball provides offspring not only with a safe refuge and food , but it is likely that the female parent additionally provisions a microbiome alongside the egg . however , future experimental validation is needed to further test this hypothesis .
vertical transmission via the brood ball may favor organisms that are culturable on standard microbiological media , as the bacteria must persist in an external environment prior to ingestion by the larvae . our analyses based on separate loci for the cloning versus culture - based assays reveals shared bacterial taxa , suggesting a portion of the microbiome is culturable . this is in contrast to relative unculturability of the majority of vertically transmitted endosymbionts that have been studied thus far in insects .
our data suggest that the dung beetle , o . taurus , has endosymbionts that are vertically transmitted in a unique method – via a brood ball . several of the endosymbionts are culturable . due to the manipulability of the system , the dung beetle symbiosis may be an ideal system to understand how host and microbes co - operate , and perhaps co - evolve , to thrive on nutritionally unbalanced diets . additionally , these data suggest that the essential ecosystem function of dung beetles , the degradation of cellulose - rich dung , may be due to communities of bacterial endosymbionts . whether other dung feeding insects have a specific a vertically transmitted microbiome warrants future studies .
a more detailed version of figure 6 that includes the species or strain names of the taxa used to build the tree .
dendrogram illustrating sequence identity between 16s rrna sequences relative to the samples . abbreviations are the same as in figure 4 .
rarefaction curves for selected individuals where the frequency with which diversity is calculated every five sequences .
accession numbers and ncbi taxonomy of the bacterial genomes used for the phylotyping analysis .
sequence identity matrix for 16s rrna samples . cells labeled id are where the sequence is compared to itself . cells labeled na were those where the sequence was not long enough for comparison .
conceived and designed the experiments : ame ecsr djh apm . performed the experiments : ame ecsr mf kf ta djh . analyzed the data : ame djh jcdh . contributed reagents / materials / analysis tools : ame jcdh apm . wrote the manuscript : ame djh jcdh . developed pipeline for phylotyping analysess : djh . collected females from the field : apm ecsr . provided beetle sterile rearing facilities and personnel : apm .
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sphex pensylvanicus is a species of digger wasp , commonly known as the great black wasp .

it lives across most of north america and grows to a size of 20 – 35 mm ( 0.8 – 1.4 in ) .

the larvae feed on living insects that the females paralyze and carry to the underground nest .

sphex pensylvanicus

and then there is this specimen of the katydid hunter sphex pensylvanicus l . :
sphex ichneumoneus ( linn . ) sphex pensylvanicus linn . isodontia auripes ( fernald ) isodontia mexicana ( saussure ) palmodes dimidiatus ( degeer ) prionyx atratus ( lepeletier )
distribution . —sphex pensylvanicus occurs throughout most of the united states north to the forty - third parallel ( fig . 15 ) .
sphex pensylvanicus linnaeus ( figs . 15 , 85 , 87 ) sphex pensylvanica linnaeus , 1763 , centuria insect rar . , p . 30 . holotype ♀ , pennsylvania ( bmnh ) .
sphex transversus fernald , 1934 . no . amer . and w . indies sphex , p . 141 . ♂ .
sphex acutus fernald , 1934 . no . amer . and w . indies sphex , p . 150 . ♂ .
sphex craspedotus fernald , 1934 . no . amer . and w . indies sphex , p . 96 . ♀ .
sphex peckhami fernald , 1934 . no . amer . and w . indies sphex , p . 93 . ♂ .
sphex dubius fernald , 1934 . no . amer . and w . indies sphex , p . 139 . preocc .
appears to be less frequently encountered across its range than sphex ichneumoneus ( based on u . of michigan museum of zoology , division of insects page on s . pensylvanicus with map of michigan records .
sphex pilosiis fernald , 1934 . no . amer . and w . indies sphex , p . 120 . ♀ , ♂ .
sphex aculeatus fernald , 1934 . no . amer . and w . indies sphex , p . 145 . ♀ , ♂ .
sphex novitus fernald , 1934 . no . amer . and w . indies sphex , p . 147 . ♀ , ♂ .
sphex parapolitus fernald , 1934 . no . amer . and w . indies sphex , p . 51 . ♀ , ♂ .
sphex floridensis fernald , 1934 . no . amer . and w . indies sphex , p . 126 . ♀ , ♂ .
sphex uniariiis leopardus fernald , 1934 . no . amer . and w . indies sphex , p . 125 . ♀ , ♂ .
sphex willistoni fernald , 1934 . no . amer . and w . indies sphex , p . 91 , fig . 37 . ♀ .
sphecid wasp videos - from brown bag productions - dick walton has some video clips of several species of sand wasps , including eremnophila aureonotata and sphex pensylvanicus . excellent video of nesting behavior ! ( 08 / 31 / 2006 )
type - species : sphex cyanea fabricius . desig . by patton , 1880 .
type - species : sphex spirifex linnaeus . desig . by bingham , 1897 .
type - species : sphex spiiifex linnaeus . desig . by latreille , 1810 .
type - species : sphex niveatus dufour . desig . by pate , 1937 .
sphex pensylvanica linnaeus , 1763 . centuria ins . rar . , p . 30 .
sphex thomae fabricius , 1775 . systema ent . , p . 346 . ♂ .
sphex flavipunctata christ , 1791 . naturgesch . class . nomencl . , p . 301 .
type - species : sphex flavipennis fabricius . desig . by internatl . comn . zool .
type - species : sphex occitanica lepeletier and serville , desig . by fernald , 1906 .
type - species : sphex albisectus lepeletier and serville . desig . by kohl , 1885 .
sphex , 167 pp . these are not reliable for identification of many north american species .
sphex caerulea linnaeus , 1763 . centuria ins . rar . , p . 30 . preocc .
sphex chlomrgyrica costa , 1862 . mus . zool . napoli , ann . 1 : 66 .
sphex ( isodontia ) macrocephaius fox , 1890 . ent . news 1 : 137 . ♀ .
sphex cressoni smith , 1908 . nebr . univ . , studies 8 : 329 . ♂ .
sphex arvensis floridensis fernald , 1933 . ent . news 44 : 236 . nom . nud .
sources : benntinen , justin and evan preisser . 2009 . “avian kleptoparasitism of the digger wasp sphex pensylvanicus , ” can . ent . 141 ( 6 ) : 604 - 608 . evans , howard e . 1963 . wasp farm . ithaca , ny : comstock publishing associates ( cornell university press ) . 178 pp .
sphex caementaria drury , 1773 . illus . nat . hist . , v . 2 , index .
sphex affinis fabricius , 1793 . ent . system . , v . 2 , p . 203 .
type - species : sphex sabulosa linnaeus . desig . by intematl . comn . zool . nomencl .
sphex cyanea fabricius , 1775 . systema ent . , no . 5 , p . 346 . preocc .
sphex dubitaia cresson , 1872 . amer . ent . soc , trans . 4 : 213 . ♀ .
sphex lauta cresson , 1872 . amer . ent . soc , trans . 4 : 212 . ♀ .
sphex aurocapillus templeton , 1841 . ent . soc . london , trans . 3 : 51 . a questionable
sphex fuliginosa dahlbom , 1843 . hym . europaea , v . 1 , p . 425 . preocc .
sphex servillei lepeletier , 1845 . hist . nat . ins . hym . 3 : 336 . ♂ .
sphex helfragei cresson , 1872 . amer . ent . soc , trans . 4 : 212 . ♀ .
sphex rufiventris cresson , 1872 . amer . ent . soc , trans . 4 : 211 . ♀ .
sphex ( priononyx ) femigineus fox , 1892 . ent . news 3 : 170 . ♀ . preocc .
few north american wasps are as conspicuous as the great black wasp , sphex pensylvanicus . this all - black insect with violet reflections on its wings is so large as to sometimes be mistaken for a tarantula hawk wasp . males average 22 millimeters in body length , while females are about 28 millimeters ( up to 35 mm ) and more robust .
sphex flavomaculata degeer , 1773 . mem . hist . ins . , v . 3 , p . 588 .
sphex micans taschenberg , 1869 . ztschr . gesam . naturw . halle 34 : 419 . ♀ . preocc .
sphex jamaica christ , 1791 . naturgesch . class . nomencl . ins . , p . 292 . emend .
sphex mexicana taschenberg , 1869 . ztschr . gesam . naturw . halle 34 : 416 . ♂ . preocc .
sphex texana cresson , 1872 . amer . ent . soc . trans . 4 : 212 . ♀ , ♂ .
sphex abdominalis cresson , 1872 . amer . ent . soc , trans . 4 : 211 . ♂ . preocc .
sphex spiniger kohl , 1890 . k . k . naturhist . hofmus . , ann . 5 : 428 . ♂ .
sphex princeps kohl , 1890 . k . k . naturhist . hofmus . , ann . 5 : 398 . ♀ .
sphex chrysophorus kohl , 1890 . k . k . naturhist . hofmus . , ann . 5 : 300 . ♀ .
sphex lanciger kohl , 1895 . k . k . naturhist . hofmus . , ann . 10 : 55 . ♂ .
sphex auriflua perty , 1834 . delect . anim . articul . brasil . , p . 142 . a questionable synonym .
sphex lanierii guerin , 1844 . iconogr . regne anim . , ins . , v . 3 : 433 . ♂ .
sphex congener kohl , 1890 . k . k . naturhist . hofmus . , ann . 5 : 418 . ♀ .
sphex violaceipenyiis lepeletier , 1845 . hist . nat . ins . hym . , v . 3 , p . 349 .
sphex laeviventris cresson , 1865 . ent . soc . phila . , proc . 4 : 463 . ♀ , ♂ .
sphex excisus kohl , 1890 . k . k . naturhist . hofmus . , ann . 5 : 362 . ♂ .
sphex harti fernald , 1931 . ent . soc . amer . , ann . 24 : 450 . n . name .
sphex kennedyi murray , 1938 . ent . soc . amer . , ann . 31 : 36 . n . name .
sphex suynptuosa costa , 1862 . mus . zool . napoli , ann . 1 : 66 . s . k questionable synonym .
sphex pensylvanicus aka the great black wasp . this black wasp with yellow antennas ( anthers ) is a species of digger wasp . they hunt for insects and pluralize them so that larvae can feed on living insect . the black wasp is approximately 1 to 1 . 4 inch long with slander body . the sting from this wasp is painful but it does not cause swelling . this wasp is also an important pollinator .
sphex singularis smith , 1856 . cat . hym . brit . mus . , v . 4 , p . 261 . ♂ .
sphex flavovestita smith , 1856 . cat . hym . brit . mus . , v . 4 , p . 253 . ♂ .
sphex habena say , 1832 . new sp . n . amer . ins . chiefly of louisiana , p . 14 . ♀ .
sphex croesus lepeletier , 1845 . hist . nat . ins . hym . , v . 3 , p . 351 . ♀ .
sphex ichneumoneus \ ar . fuiviventris kohl , 1890 . k . k . naturhist . hofmus . , ann . 5 : 431 .
sphex apicalis smith , 1856 . cat . hym . brit . mus . , v . 4 , p . 262 . ♀ .
sphex elegans smith , 1856 . cat . hym . brit . mus . , v . 4 , p . 262 . ♂ .
sphex morio kohl , 1890 . k . k . naturhist . hofmus . , ann . 5 : 321 . ♂ . preocc .
sphex doumerci lepeletier , 1845 . hist . nat . ins . hym . , v . 3 , p . 357 . ♀ .
sphex { priononyx ) laerma cameron , 1897 . ann . and mag . nat . hist . ( 6 ) 19 : 370 .
sphex ( harpactopus ) edwardsi cameron , 1903 . amer . ent . soc , trans . 29 : 230 . ♀ , ♂ .
sphex dorsalis lepeletier , 1845 . hist . nat . ins . , hym . , v . 3 , p . 347 . ♂ .
sphex aurulenta guerin , 1835 . iconogr . regne anim . , planches anim . invert . , pi . 70 , fig . 2 .
sphex joergenseni brethes , 1913 . buenos aires mus . nac . de hist . nat . , an . 24 : 120 . ♂ .
sphex philadelphica lepeletier , 1845 . hist . nat . ins . , hym . , v . 3 , p . 340 . ♀ .
sphex apicalis harris , 1835 . in hitchcock , rpt . geol . mineral . bot . zool . mass . , p . 588 .
sphex ( palmodes ) praestans kohl , 1890 . k . k . naturhist . hofmus . , ann . 5 : 323 . ♀ .
sphex labrosa harris , 1835 . in hitchcock , rpt . geol . mineral . bot . zool . mass . , p . 588 .
sphex atrata lepeletier , 1845 . hist . nat . ins . , hym . , v . 3 , p . 355 . ♀ .
sphex fervens linnaeus , 1758 . syst . nat . , ed . 10 , p . 569 . 9 . type from west indies or
sphex pilosus nudus murray , 1938 . ent . soc . amer . , ann . 31 : 28 . ♂ , ♀ . preocc .
sphex flavipes smith , 1856 . cat . hym . brit . mus . , v . 4 , p . 263 . ♀ . preocc .
sphex dimidiatus lepeletier , 1845 . hist . nat . ins . hym . , v . 3 , p . 352 . ♂ . preocc .
sphex chichimecus saussure , 1867 . reise d . novara , zool . , v . 2 , hym . , p . 40 . ♂ .
sphex tepanecus saussure , 1867 . reise d . novara , zool . , v . 2 , hym . , p . 41 . ♂ .
sphex lucae saussure , 1867 . reise d . novara , zool . , v . 2 , hym . , p . 41 . ♀ .
sphex apicalis saussure , 1867 . reise d . novara , zool . , v . 2 , hym . , p . 38 . preocc .
sphex platensis brethes , 1908 . buenos aires mus . nac de hist . nat . , an . 17 : 146 . ♂ , ♀ .
sphex yiigropilosus rohwer , 1912 . u . s . natl . mus . , proc . 41 : 465 . 9 . this is a questionable
pat , this looks to me like sphex pennsylvanica , a hunter of katydids . your description sounds small , though . i have seen plenty of s . pennsylvanica females that greatly exceed the great golden digger wasps ( sphex ichneumoneus ) in size . in flight they look gigantic , of course !
sphex ( chlorion ) nearcticus kohl , 1890 . k . k . naturhist . hofmus . , ann . 5 : 186 . ♀ , ♂ .
sphex ( chlorion ) occultus kohl , 1890 . k . k . naturhist . hofmus . , ann . 5 : 187 . ♀ , ♂ .
sphex ornata lepeletier , 1845 . hist . nat . ins . , hym . , v . 3 , p . 344 . 9 , tj .
sphex tibialis lepeletier , 1845 . hist . nat . ins . , hym . , v . 3 , p . 339 . ♀ . preocc .
sphex ( palmodes ) daggyi murray , 1951 . u . s . dept . agr . , monog . 2 : 974 . n . name .
sphex dimidiatus degeer , 1773 . mem . pour servir a i ' hist . des ins . 3 : 577 , pi . 30 , fig . 5 . ♂ .
sphex instabilis smith , 1856 . cat . hym . brit . mus . , v . 4 , p . 263 . 9 . n . amer . possibly a senior
my work on tr programs was partially inspired by the “tote units‚” of miller , galanter , and pribram who proposed them as a model of behavior . i was also aware of the work on animal behavior by ethologists , such as nicholas tinbergen and konrad lorenz . could tr programs serve as a model of some aspects of animal behavior ? in my 1998 ai textbook , artificial intelligence : a new synthesis , i repeated ( on p . 82 ) the following description ( from a book by dean wooldridge ) of the behavior of the solitary wasp , sphex pensylvanicus :
insects of cedar creek - - they label as
sphex species
, but mention
s . pennsylvanicus
on the sphecidae family page . phenology lists occurence in july and august .
( special thanks to pat shorter , an undergraduate member of the marek lab , for taking the photo of our infected sphex wasp ! she also took the photos of the cissites auriculata beetle in our previous post . )
sphex pensylvanicus aka the great black wasp insects . it ' s is very angry . this bee sometime nursery bee . this black wasp with yellow antennas ( anthers ) is a species of digger wasp . they hunt for insects and pluralize them so that larvae can feed on living insect . the black wasp is approximately 1 to 1 . 4 inch long with slander body . the sting from this wasp is painful but it does not cause swelling . this wasp is also an important pollinator . our social pages : facebook : urltoken pintertest : https : urltoken instragram : urltoken twitter : urltoken # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # copyright disclaimer : video information source : urltoken music source : urltoken
well , maybe it ' s 25 mm or more . they move so fast , it is rather hard to get a feeling for the size . i ' m sure you are correct . it is about the size of sphex ichneumoneus , a species i do know . patrick coin durham , north carolina
this wasp , in the genus sphex , is a member of the family sphecidae ( sfee - ci - dee ) , the thread - waisted wasps , or digger wasps , which are all solitary . relatives include mud daubers and the very closely related great golden digger wasp ( s . ichneumoneus ) . many famous naturalists have written entertaining , fascinating accounts of this and other digger wasps ; those of howard ensign evans ( “wasp farm” ) and j . henri fabre are highly recommended .
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nearctica lists it as pensylvanica , which is wrong because the gender of the genus is male .
provision nests ( in burrow in soft earth ) with katydids or grasshoppers . ( univ . florida lists : tettigoniidae in genera microcentrum and scudderia . ) usually about three are placed in a nest .
evans , pp . 49 - 51 , 55 - 56 describes life history .
bohart , r . m . and a . s . menke . 1963 . a reclassification of the sphecinae with a revision of the nearctic species of the tribes sce1iphronini and sphecini ( hymenoptera , sphecidae ) . univ . calif . publ . ent . 30 : 91 - 182 .
kaufman field guide to insects of north america eric eaton , kenn kaufman . 2006 . houghton mifflin .
insects of north carolina c . s . brimley . 1938 . north carolina department of agriculture .
american insects : a handbook of the insects of america north of mexico ross h . arnett . 2000 . crc press .
insects in kansas glenn a . salsbury and stephan c . white . 2000 . kansas dept . of agriculture .
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the information below is based on images submitted and identified by contributors . range and date information may be incomplete , overinclusive , or just plain wrong .
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all about insects , spiders , and other arthropods , focusing on north america north of mexico .
this is also a common and widespread species , ranging from southeast canada to northern mexico , and as far west as southern california . it is absent from the pacific northwest , and while i lived in arizona for a decade , i did not encounter this species there , either . it is perhaps most abundant along forest edges in deciduous woodlands , sumac thickets , gardens , and fields with scattered trees .
habitat preference is governed by the need for the adult wasps to find flower nectar to fuel their flight ; and for females to find katydid prey . milkweed ( asclepias spp . ) , thoroughworts ( eupatorium spp . ) , mountain mint ( pycnanthemum spp . ) , buttonbush ( cephalanthus occidentalis ) , camphorweed ( pluchea spp . ) , rattlesnake master ( eryngium yuccifolium ) , white sweet clover ( melilotus alba ) , and goldenrod ( solidago spp . ) are among this wasp’s favorite rest stops . females dig burrows in soft soil , usually in sheltered spots such as the dirt floors of abandoned barns or other outbuildings .
though they are solitary , several females may nest in close proximity to one other . each burrow is an angled tunnel about an inch in diameter and over one foot long . at the end of the burrow is a chamber from which other cells are added over time . the female leaves the nest entrance open while she goes about finding katydids . her prey can be enormous . adult greater angle - wing katydids ( microcentrum rhombifolium ) can be 52 - 63 millimeters long and are quite heavy . the lesser angle - wing katydid ( m . retinerve ) is another prey species , as is scudderia furcata , the fork - tailed bush katydid . an average of three paralyzed katydids goes into each cell in the nest , a single egg being laid on the first of those victims .
the wasp larva that hatches from the egg feeds and grows for about ten days , eventually reaching a length of 30 - 35 millimeters , and a diameter of 7 - 10 millimeters . larval insects are almost always larger than the adult stage because so much energy is spent in the pupal stage . the larva probably passes the winter in a pre - pupal state , pupating the following spring and then emerging in summer .
female great black wasps are incredibly successful at finding katydids . one field researcher , reverend john a . frisch of woodstock college in maryland plugged the nest entrances in one aggregation . the result was 252 katydids piled up in only five days . that worked out to an average of nearly 17 katydids per wasp per day ( evans , 1963 ) . the wasps fly with that heavy load , too .
hauling a large , heavy katydid back to the nest can attract unwanted attention , and one entomologist in rhode island observed house sparrows ( passer domesticus ) and , to a lesser degree , gray catbirds ( dumetella carolinensis ) intercepting female wasps and relieving them of their paralyzed prey . as many as one - third of return trips by all the female wasps observed ended this way : empty - handed ( benntinen & preisser , 2009 ) .
the adult wasps themselves can be parasitized by paraxenos westwoodi , one of the insects called stylopids or “twisted - wing parasites . ” wasps that have deformities of the abdominal segments , often with a bullet - like capsule or two protruding between segments , are victims of stylopids .
an interesting piece of historical trivia is that this species was the first insect subject of a paper by a naturalist native to north america . observations of the great black wasp by john bartram ( philadelphia ) were presented to the royal society ( royal society of london for improving natural knowledge ) by peter collinson in 1749 . the species was not officially described until 1763 by carl linnaeus .
nice post eric ! i ' ve grown fond of these wasps since the summer , when i was finding many of them . they seem to like hanging around japanese knotweed ( fallopia japonica ) flowers as well .
hi , diane ! the females are certainly capable of stinging , but you have to literally molest one to get it feeling threatened enough to deploy its stinger . plus , males ( which are anatomically incapable of stinging ) are far more common at flowers in my experience . females are busy digging nests and hunting katydids .
i had to post a comment because i just discovered these wasps in my garden today ; i ' d never seen them before . i live in the pacific northwest ( medford , or ) - was surprised to read that they are supposed to be absent here . one of these beauties was enormous - about the length of my little finger - and i saw 2 others that were a bit smaller . i had to find out what kind of wasp they are and my search led me here . great informative post ! i am a first year beekeeper and am frequently out observing them , and the bumble bees , in the yard , that ' s how i discovered the great black wasps . how exciting that they are here !
stephanie : you may have a different wasp altogether . i ' d love to see an image of what you are talking about , and learn what kind of prey it is bringing in . i ' m thinking it is a species of palmodes , or even prionyx , rather than the subject of this blog post . i lived in oregon the first 27 years of my life and never saw a great black wasp there , either .
the description fits closely to a smaller black wasp we have here in oregon . grants pass . about 30 mi from medford . same description down to the oil sheen on black wings . just seems smaller . so perhaps a subspecies of some kind ?
hi , jed . i grew up in oregon , and i think you are most likely describing one of the podalonia species of cutworm wasps . i have done a couple of posts here on podalonia . they are very common in the western u . s .
eric i have these wasps under the deck of my front door , they have never bitten anyone and my family has learned to just walk by them or ignore them but when people come to the front door it is pretty scary to be swarmed by these big black wasps . every year we seem to get more and more and they love the minnesota sun in july . any ideas on how to get them to move on or move out ? nancyb
i ' m sorry , nancy , but my business is not to suggest
pest control
for what are essentially harmless insects . unless you physically grab a female wasp , you are not going to get stung . period . the wasps use landmarks to locate their nests , and are circling the guests at your door because they interpret the people as new landmarks ( or the wasps are simply disoriented by the sudden appearance of a person ) .
hello eric , as with nancy i have seen a wasp that looks a lot like this one , as far as if it is or is not i will give you what i can . i may be able to find the body of the wasp . we can ' t take risks , allergies . but i noticed it when it flew into a small hole in the inside of my hose reel for storring the garden hose . it was carrying a long piece of dryed grass . this wasp was much larger than the normal wasps i get . i would guess about 2 / 3ds larger .
fred , what you are describing is a
grass - carrier
wasp , same family as the great black wasp , but different genus and different nesting behavior . here ' s one of my blog posts about them : urltoken
we are trying to identify a huge black flying bug and it looks a lot like the great wasp , and it lives in a crevice in our garage . we noticed one , now it seems we have 3 . it ' s living in a small hole in the corner of the garage where the garage door meets the ground . do you think this is a great wasp or some other type based on what i ' ve noted . i have not seen it bring back food of any type so far .
took me awhile to find your comment since it was in a
reply
to someone else ' s comment . . . . i honestly don ' t know .
huge
is relative , so it could be a blue mud dauber i suppose , or maybe a * male * great black wasp that is simply roosting there . i ' d have to see it myself to be able to say for certain .
if these wasps are not in the pacific northwesr why do you suppose i found one in my garden , in the bamboo with an ant on it ' s stinger ? i live on the pennisula in nw washington state .
hi , debra : i imagine you probably found a different kind of wasp altogether . in my response to stephanie gentry above , i suggested she might have seen a palmodes wasp instead . . . . ants will antagonize wasps that visit aphid colonies they are guarding . the ants will also scavenge dead insects , even very large ones .
hi eric - i live in bellevue ( suburb of omaha , i see you ' re coming to visit the zoo - it is awesome , so enjoy yourself ) , and this afternoon one of these wasps must have gotten trapped in my garage and buzzed in past me into the basement . not knowing if it was going to sting me , i ' ve pretty much left it alone . the lights are out down there now so no idea where it is . i will be using the treadmill down there in the morning ( it is too hot and humid to run outside ) and i ' m wondering if this wasp will be trying to find it ' s way outside . i ' d love to help it , but it ' s a bug . . . . and it could hurt me or the dogs . . . . suggestions that will save us all a little hurt ? : - ) thanks !
hi , kelley ! most insects trapped indoors fly to light , so if you have a window or windows in your basement , it will fly to those . then just put a glass or other transparent container over the insect and slip a card between bug and the window , trapping the insect inside the container . then you can release it outdoors . that said , this species is in no danger of going extinct , so if you must kill it , then don ' t feel * too * guilty .
greetings ! i found one of these lovely , iridescent blue - black babies hanging around on the white goosefoot ( chenopodium album ) outside my back door ( milan , mi ) . it was terrifying my children ( ages 5 and 3 ) so they wouldn ' t use the door . i looked it up and happened upon your page ! thanks for the great information ! we ' re all pleased to learn it won ' t sting us , but big , black flying things are scary nonetheless ! i ' m going to try removing the plant it seems to favor ( there ' s a bunch elsewhere in the yard ) to see if the wasp hangs out around the door less . i ' m sure her nest is somewhere in the crumbling cinderblock wall of our small porch right there , so she probably won ' t go too far , but if we can get in and out of the door without a two - inch wasp in our faces , that ' d be lovely . : )
just discovered these burrowing under my house in upstate south carolina . any reason to be concerned ?
hi , june . no reason for concern . just don ' t disturb them for the week , more or less , that they need to nest . you wouldn ' t likely get stung anyway , but locations suitable for nesting are sometimes hard to come by for solitary wasps and bees .
you do not indicate a geographic location , but i would bet you are describing the blue mud dauber , which sometimes nests in attics and can find its way downstairs from there . please find someone who can vacuum them up , or usher them into containers to be released outdoors . since they are solitary , you won ' t get stung unless you actually grab one ( and it is likely to fly away before you could do that anyway ) . please refrain from chemical sprays in the interest of your own health , and that of your family and pets . i ' d happily help personally were it possible to be all places at once .
thank you for this wonderful description . i just saw one of these huge great black wasps tenderly sipping nectar from butterfly weed ( a type of milkweed ) in my garden . i live in rhode island . we have nesting house sparrows and mockingbirds in the yard . i can ' t wait to see the birds steal a katydid from the wasp , i ' ll be on lookout . i just hope i ' m not too close to become entangled . thanks again . i ' ve never seen one of these wasps before , and now i know all about it .
would you consider it safe to leave them alone if these black hornets have built a nest up inside of the wall / ceiling at the entryway to our back porch ? we can ' t see the nest without taking the ceiling apart . i don ' t want to spray or kill them , but i don ' t want the nest to grow and multiply over the summer and winter until we have a serious problem on our hands .
you are describing some other kind of wasp . the great black wasp is solitary and nests in the ground , not between walls or in attics .
hello eric ! great black wasps were the subject of my august ' nature of merrickville ' column in the local monthly . your blog and scilog were among my sources . i saw my first great blacks in the last week - - near bishop ' s mills ontario and at montebello in western quebec . talk about huge ! ! my article assured folks that they were not aggressive and also described ichneumonidae , as another example of fascinating parasatoid wasps . i was a bug - fearing kid ( and adult ) and terrified of spiders . if anyone had told me that i would grow up to be the bug lady , i ' d have laughed in their faces . but it was the specialization of wasps that got me interested , the truth about when spiders bite that calmed my phobia and the fine teachings of many mentors ( the likes of thee ) , when i began teaching at a nature museum , that propelled me in this direction . my thanks to you and your kin for my new - found love of insects .
wow , i am not sure i ' ve ever been paid a higher compliment . thank you so much !
just found a set of nests right by my backyard gate in nj . there are nearly a dozen holes , but i ' m finding more around the property everyday now that i know what to look for . we realized that they are docile and can walk right over them , but any idea how to encourage future generations to move on ? i don ' t mind their presence , just not directly underfoot which scaressentially the kids and excited the dog .
there is no guarantee they will nest again there next year . did you see them last year ? also , pretty sure soil composition and texture dictates where they can nest . unless you want to replace * that * , not sure you can easily dissuade them from nesting where they will . that said , i empathize with your dilemma .
we didn ' t see them at all last year , though my neighbor just told me that he ' s had them for years in a rocky section of his yard . and while we have a lot of clay in our soil , there ' s no way we ' ll try to replace it . our neighborhood is mostly wooded and
pests
are just part of the fun .
thank you so much for the information . we are from michigan . we have been fascinated by two of these for over a week . we never knew we had this many katydids on our 10 acres ! they keep bringing them back like little troopers . today we noticed that the one entrance ( under a good sized rock ) wasn ' t having the normal activity . we looked in and found a fat toad sitting there ! . would he have eaten the wasp ? thanks again .
i wouldn ' t put it past a toad to eat * any * thing . lol ! that said , the wasp could also have finished her nest and the toad came afterwards . thank you so much for sharing your story ! i live for this kind of feedback , especially from folks who are observant and express their awe as you have here . made my day . : - )
i was stung by one of these last year . about 3 times by the same little wasp , and damn it hurts . was out riding my scooter when i felt like i was shot in the stomach twice . figured i could just ride it off till i got home ( about 1 / 4 mile ) , but after the third sting . . . . . absolutely not . had to pull over and when i lifted my shirt he went flying off . the sting didn ' t swell a whole lot , but hurt a million times more than a paper wasp or a honey bee sting . i have been stung a couple more times sense then ( all while out riding ) . they don ' t seem to be aggressive , but if they get under your shirt while out riding they will sting you and damn it hurts .
i am sorry you had this experience ! the great black wasp is a very large insect , so i wonder if it was not another kind of wasp that got you .
my daughter got stung on 3 days ago by what i believe to be a great black wasp . it was on her school bus and must have attached itself to her bookbag or jacket . when she got home and took off her bookbag and jacket it stung her in the forearm . it was just after she was stung i saw the wasp crawling on the couch behind her . it was over an inch in length and all black . she had very little reaction to the sting . in fact , there was no swelling or redness that evening . however the following day she had redness and swelling in an area the size of a lemon . the second day , the swelling and redness increased from her elbow to wrist . today it is extended to her finger tips and past her elbow . i took her to the doctor and she has serum sickness . i am just wondering if it could be something other than a great black wasp . are there any other insects that look just like a great black wasp ?
oh , dear . well , first , my sincerest wishes for your daughter ' s full and speedy recovery . there are certainly many species of wasps similar to the great black wasp , so without seeing the specimen , or at least an image , i can ' t say one way or the other . you don ' t give a geographic location , either , so for all i know this happened in peru . . . . one thing for sure : reaction to stings often has more to do with a given individual ' s immune system reaction than the venom composition of the insect . i would ask the doctor for advice on first aid for future stings to mitigate potentially dangerous reactions .
sorry i forgot to tell you my location . i live in pennsylvania . i wish i had a picture to show you . i could only describe it as about 1 . 5 inches in length , completely black , and very long legs .
could easily be this wasp . . . . but as i said previously , i can ' t be certain without seeing the specimen .
we live in the middle of a hundred acre farm in nw ohio . that ' s a lot of loose dirt ! on our farm we have a half acre vegetable garden and tons of perennial and annual flowers so i could see where these wasps could really be helpful . but recently we attached an outdoor shower to our home and i ' m not sure if that stirred them up or what because we have about 30 - 40 swarming around our front porch . they may not be the exact same ones because we ' ve seen them going in and out of paper nests under the soffit of our porch and dormers . we have knocked those down . but they seem too small to house so many wasps ! we can ' t really determine where they all are coming from and what to do with them . we have to do something because we have grandchildren that are coming soon and we literally can not use our front porch because there are so many of them swarming around ! my question is , is there an extremely large shiny black wasp that builds paper nests in nw ohio ? it ' s not a mud dobber i ' ve had those before . and how can i move them without killing them ? how can i find their nest ?
debbie , thanks for reaching me through allexperts as well , and for including the images that prove conclusively that what you have are blue mud dauber wasps , chalybion californicum . the males congregate to
sleep
together overnight in some nook or other sheltered spot . male wasps don ' t sting , so no worries .
that sounds more like a grass - carrier wasp ( isodontia sp . ) or a blue mud dauber ( chalybion californicum ) . great black wasp nests in the ground , and would not be crawling under siding even to hunt katydids .
hello eric , i must say i have never been a big bug fan . i ' ve always had an innate fear of all flying bugs , and as i ' ve never been stung , a built in radar for bees and wasps . tonight i met the great black wasp . it landed on my leg . i did my usual hysterical dance , it fell off my leg , and before i knew it i had stepped on it . i had never seen anything so large , so close to me . then i noticed it was carrying a giant katydid which was at least 63 mm . it was all new to me . the only big bug i ' ve seen close up was a giant black grasshopper back home in alabama . here in south bend , indiana , it ' s usually beesness as usual . i then did some research on this glorious wasp . i truly regret that i got in the way of her task of getting that katydid to her nest . thank you for such a wonderful introduction to a wasp i think i can actually bee friends with . regards dee b
dee : thank you so much for sharing your story . i am always delighted to hear this kind of thing . i often think i am making little difference , so thanks for letting me know i have an impact . : - )
they have been terrifying me for almost a week before i stumbled across your blog today . i was pretty sure this was the species but after finding two alive ( sedated ) katydids at the entrance to our barn , my suspicions are confirmed . so happy to know these are a bunch of essentially single moms looking to rear some young in my horse barn , and that they are not aggressive . boy they look intimidating ! ! i have a bunch of holes in the barn floor ( millings ) , a substrate which they obviously find irresistable because my efforts have not been successful to have them vacate the barn completely , but merely to relocate !
christie , thank you so much for sharing your story .
single moms
they truly are ! what a great way to put it . thank you also for your tolerance , and efforts to identify your
guests .
you help restore my faith in humanity . : - )
in chicago , facing lake michigan , and six stories up , we have what look to me like great black wasps . but , rather than katydid , these wasps seem to be harvesting spiders . since we have plenty of spiders , it ' s quite helpful . do you think these are actually great black wasps , or merely close relatives ?
definitely * not * great black wasps if they are going after spiders , and nesting on a building . mud daubers , sceliphron caementarium , chalybion californicum , and trypoxylon politum should all be in your area , so it could be any one of those .
hi eric i do a lot of container gardening every summer so i ' m outside a lot . the past few days i ' ve seen this large flying black creature entering and exiting a half inch crack in my concrete patio . came in this evening and typed in horse fly . that wasn ' t it so i tried big black wasp . bingo ! i planted a lot of different plants to attract pollinators . white clover and milkweed . this wasp also likes the hibiscus - like flowers on okra . i ' m glad to know this wasp is harmless as i have an epi - pen with me every time i go outside . i know enough not to mess with wasps . in fact there are a lot of them in my garden . i ' ve even had them land on me and i freeze and they leave cause i don ' t have any pollen . i ' ll enjoy watching this making it ' s nest . how long do you think it will be around ? i live in se tn . so glad i found your post .
hi , anne ! well , since you have made your property so hospitable to other creatures , i suspect your big black wasp will be around for at least the next few days to finish * this * nest , then maybe start another one elsewhere in your yard . thank you for the kind compliments !
every morning , and throughout the day , i have multiple wasps , that i believe to be great blacks , in my garage . they congregate on the window of an access door , which i open and then ' scoot ' them out . there seems to be a never ending supply as this has been going on for some time . i live in buffalo , mn . any idea why this is . thanks , roy
i think what you have is a harmless , nightly congregation of male blue mud dauber wasps , chalybion californicum . they are known for this behavior . nice of you to escort them out . the female wasps hunt spiders as food for their offspring , but they usually don ' t join the males at night , sleeping by themselves in most cases .