Argogorytes mystaceus
{{Short description|Species of wasp}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Crabronidae - Argogorytes mystaceus.JPG
| image_caption = Argogorytes mystaceus. Dorsal view
| taxon = Argogorytes mystaceus
| authority = (Linnaeus, 1761)
|synonyms_ref=[http://www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2014/details/species/id/15557422 Catalogue of life]
|synonyms={{collapsible list|bullets = true
| Apis mystacea Linné, 1761
| Arpactus campestris Linné, 1761
| Arpactus mystaceus Linné, 1761
| Crabro bicinctus Fabricius, 1793
| Crabro mystaceus Linné, 1761
| Gorytes arpactus Fabricius, 1804
| Gorytes campestris Linné, 1761
| Gorytes mystaceus Linné, 1761
| Gorytes mystaceus tonsus Bondroit, 1933
| Gorytes tonsus Bondroit, 1933
| Mellinus arpactus Fabricius, 1804
| Mellinus campestris Linné, 1761
| Mellinus mystaceus Linné, 1761
| Sphex longicornis Rossi, 1790
| Sphex mystaceus Linné, 1761
| Vespa campestris Linné, 1761
| Vespa flavicincta Donovan, 1808
| Vespa inimica M. Harris, 1776
}}}}
Argogorytes mystaceus is a species of solitary wasp in the family Bembicidae.[https://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id70097/ Biolib]
Distribution
This species has a Palearctic distribution occurring in most European countries from Ireland in the west{{cite web | url = http://www.bwars.com/wasp/crabronidae/nyssoninae/argogorytes-mystaceus | title = Argogorytes mystaceus (Linnaeus,1761) | accessdate = 17 May 2017 | publisher = Bees Wasps and Ants Recording Society | author = G.W. Allen | year = 2001}} and east to Siberia, Japan, Korea, China; south to Turkey.[https://web.archive.org/web/20141019043208/http://www.faunaeur.org/full_results.php?id=197017 Argogorytes mystaceus in Fauna europaea]
Habitat
These wasps prefer deciduous woodland and hedge rows with sandy soil in sunny mountain areas with abundant flowering plants, at an elevation of over {{convert|1000|m}} above sea level.[https://www.commanster.eu/Commanster/Insects/Bees/SpBees/Argogorytes.mystaceus.html Commanster]{{Self-published source|date=April 2024}}
Description
Argogorytes mystaceus can reach a length of {{convert|10|-|14|mm}} in females, of {{convert|8|-|11|mm}} in males. These medium-sized wasps have a black abdomen with a few yellow stripes and no petiole. In males antennae are very long. Mesothorax and scutellum are black. Legs are pale yellowish brown, with a black base.Bohart, R.M. & Menke, A.S. 1976. Sphecid Wasps of the World: a Generic Revision. — Berkeley: Univ. California Press. — ix, 695 pp.Bob Gibbons [https://books.google.com/books?id=VkXjBAAAQBAJ&dq=Argogorytes+mystaceus+length&pg=PT586 FIELD GUIDE TO INSECTS OF BRITAIN AND NORTHERN EUROPE]
Biology
Females of Argogorytes mystaceus usually visit Apiaceae flowers, wood spurge and honeydew on sweet chestnut leaves. Males are known to be pollinator of the flowers of fly orchids (mainly Ophrys insectifera).Leendert van der Pijl, Calaway H. Dodson (1966). Orchid Flowers: Their Pollination and Evolution (Kapitel 11, Mimicry and Deception). University of Miami Press, Coral Gables. {{ISBN|0-87024-069-2}}. {{OCLC|310489511}} The males of this species try to copulate (pseudocopulation) with these specialized flowers, that mimic (pouyannian mimicry) the shape and the scent of the females, with the purpose of deceiving them and thereby pollinate the flowers.Ingemar Hjorth (2003). Ekologi – för miljöns skull. Liber förlag AB, Stockholm. {{ISBN|91-47-05104-3}}Sven Nilsson (1987). Orkidéer - Europas vildväxande arter. Wahlström & Widstrand. {{ISBN|91-46-15422-1}}Howard Ensign EVANS, Kevin M. O'Neill, Howard Ensign Eva [https://books.google.com/books?id=98iXm_2DFaIC&dq=Argogorytes+mystaceus+length&pg=PA49 The Sand Wasps: natural history and behavior]
These solitary wasps nest in soil in dry banks. Larvae feed on nymphs of small leafhoppers and spittlebugs (mainly Philaenus and Aphrophora{{cite journal |last1=Callan |first1=E. McC. |title=Nesting Behavior and Prey of Argogorytes Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) |journal=Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences |date=1980 |volume=70 |issue=4 |pages=160–165 |jstor=24537234 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24537234 |access-date=30 April 2024 |issn=0043-0439}} species). They fly in one generation from mid-May to mid-August. Among their natural enemies there are parasitoid wasps (especially Ichneumonidae larvae) and nest parasites (Nysson spinosus).
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- [http://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Taxbrowser_Taxonpage?taxid=386877 Argogorytes mystaceus images] at Consortium for the Barcode of Life
- [https://inpn.mnhn.fr/espece/cd_nom/52977 INPN]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q916103}}
Category:Hymenoptera of Europe