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Trypoxylon Latreille, 1796 (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae) consists of 633 known species worldwide and the genus is divided into numerous species groups. In Vietnam, 19 species of Trypoxylon have been recorded to date. In this study, a new species, Trypoxylon sicklum Pham and Antropov sp. nov. is described and illustrated from Vinh Phuc Province, Vietnam. The new species is the second member of the Trypoxylon fulvocollare species group. A key to species in the Trypoxylon fulvocollaris group is presented.Trypoxylon sicklum Pham and Antropov sp. nov., is described as a new species and is the second member of the Trypoxylon fulvocollare species group. A key to species in the Trypoxylon fulvocollaris group is presented.

Background: Trypoxylon Latreille, 1796 (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae) consists of 633 known species worldwide and the genus is divided into numerous species groups. In Vietnam, 19 species of Trypoxylon have been recorded to date. In this study, a new species, Trypoxylon sicklum Pham and Antropov sp. nov. is described and illustrated from Vinh Phuc Province, Vietnam. The new species is the second member of the Trypoxylon fulvocollare species group. A key to species in the Trypoxylon fulvocollaris group is presented. New information: Trypoxylon sicklum Pham and Antropov sp. nov., is described as a new species and is the second member of the Trypoxylon fulvocollare species group. A key to species in the Trypoxylon fulvocollaris group is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Pemphredoninae are a very large lineage of crabronid wasps with more than a thousand species. In this lineage, the subtribe Spilomenina stand out for containing the smallest apoid wasps and by exhibiting relatively complex social behavior such as female nest-sharing and even eusocial colonies. One of the most conspicuous features of this subtribe, and which seems to be associated with its social behavior, is the presence of silk spinnerets that are used for lining and nest building. In the present study, we conducted Bayesian inference and parsimony analyses with a subset of a previously established morphological data matrix of Pemphredoninae. Our phylogenetic results indicate that Spilomena subterranea McCoquodale & Naumann, 1988, an Australian spilomenine species that presents nest-sharing behavior but lacking silk apparatus represents an independent lineage, recognized here in a new genus, Australomena gen. nov. Our results indicate that Australomena gen. nov. is sister group of the remaining Spilomenina (Arpactophilus, Microstigmus, Spilomena and Xysma). The females of Australomena gen. nov. shows clear adaptations for ground nesting, such as a pygidial plate and basitibial plates on the hind legs, that means that nest-sharing behavior arose very early in Spilomenina evolution, apparently long before the emergence of the silk apparatus.

New distinguishing genus, Oxybelochardus gen. nov., belonging to the tribe Oxybelini (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae), with the type species Oxybelochardus iraqensis sp. nov. from Iraq, have been described and illustrated. The diagnostic characters and differences from the close genera that were distributed and listed in the Palearctic Region are presented.

Connectivity is a species- and landscape-specific measure that is key to species conservation in fragmented landscapes. However, information on connectivity is often lacking, especially for insects which are known to be severely declining. Patterns of gene flow constitute an indirect measure of functional landscape connectivity. We studied the population genetic structure of the rare digger wasp Bembix rostrata in coastal and inland regions in and near Belgium. The species is restricted to sandy pioneer vegetations for nesting and is well known for its philopatry as it does not easily colonize vacant habitat. It has markedly declined in the last century, especially in the inland region where open sand habitat has decreased in area and became highly fragmented. To assess within and between region connectivity, we used mating system independent population genetic methods suitable for haplodiploid species. We found more pronounced genetic structure in the small and isolated inland populations as compared to the well-connected coastal region. We also found a pattern of asymmetrical gene flow from coast to inland, including a few rare dispersal distances of potentially up to 200 to 300 km, based on assignment tests. We point to demography, wind and difference in dispersal capacities as possible underlying factors that can explain the discrepancy in connectivity and asymmetrical gene flow between the different regions. Overall, gene flow between existing populations appeared not highly restricted, especially at the coast. Therefore, to improve the conservation status of B. rostrata, the primary focus should be to preserve and create sufficient habitat for this species to increase the number and quality of (meta) populations, rather than focusing on landscape connectivity itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parasitoid wasps are fundamental insects for the biological control of agricultural pests. Despite the importance of wasps as natural enemies for more sustainable and healthy agriculture, the factors that could impact their species richness, abundance, and fitness, such as viral diseases, remain almost unexplored. Parasitoid wasps have been studied with regard to the endogenization of viral elements and the transmission of endogenous viral proteins that facilitate parasitism. However, circulating viruses are poorly characterized. Here, RNA viromes of six parasitoid wasp species are studied using public libraries of next-generation sequencing through an integrative bioinformatics pipeline. Our analyses led to the identification of 18 viruses classified into 10 families (Iflaviridae, Endornaviridae, Mitoviridae, Partitiviridae, Virgaviridae, Rhabdoviridae, Chuviridae, Orthomyxoviridae, Xinmoviridae, and Narnaviridae) and into the Bunyavirales order. Of these, 16 elements were described for the first time. We also found a known virus previously identified on a wasp prey which suggests viral transmission between the insects. Altogether, our results highlight the importance of virus surveillance in wasps as its service disruption can affect ecology, agriculture and pest management, impacting the economy and threatening human food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the results of scientific research conducted in 2021–2023 on the study of digger wasps belonging to the Sphecidae, Crabronidae family in different regions of Uzbekistan, as well as the results of the study of literature sources. Total 484 species of which 69 species belonging to Sphecidae family, 415 species to Crabronidae family, 21 tribes and 74 genera were recorded in our republic. In terms of subspecies, Crabroninae equals to 24.8%, Bembicinae 18.2%, Philanthinae 17.8 %, Eremiaspheciinae 15.7 %, Ammophilinae 7.2 %, Pemphredoninae 6.6 %, Sphecinae 5.2 %, Astatinae 2.1%, Sceliphrinae 1.8 % and Dinetinae 0.6 %. 125 species were identified in the North-Western region of Uzbekistan, 253 species in the North-Eastern region, 66 species in the Eastern region, 261 species in the Central region, and 101 species in the Southern region. The digger wasp species in the North-Western and Central regions of Uzbekistan have the closest similarity of 30%, and the Eastern and Southern regions have the furthest similarity. 48% of digger wasps are native to desert, 35% to mountain and lowlands and least agrocenosis landscapes.

پایش تنوع گونه‌ای پارازیتوئیدها و شکارگرها در اکوسیستم‌های مختلف یکی از اصول مدیریت آفات محسوب می‌شود. این مطالعه، در راستای بررسی ساختار تنوع گونه­ای زنبور­های گروهSpheciformes (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) در مناطق جنوبی استان کرمان (جنوب شرق ایران) صورت گرفت. بدین منظور نمونه برداری طی فروردین ماه تا اواخر شهریورماه سال 1396 با استفاده از تله مالیز در 12 منطقه از شهرستان‌های جیرفت، بم، عنبرآباد، کهنوج، قلعه‌گنج و منوجان صورت پذیرفت. نمونه­های مورد نظر تا سطح گونه شناسایی و تعداد افراد هر گونه شمارش شدند. در مجموع، 36 گونه متعلق به 17 جنس شناسایی شد. تنوع گونه‌ای با استفاده از نرم افزار SDR بررسی شد. بر اساس شاخص­های تنوع گونه­ای شانون وینر و یکنواختی پیلوجی شهرستان بم با 20 گونه، از نظر تنوع گونه­ای و یکنواختی در صدر قرار گرفت. پس از آن، جیرفت و کهنوج دارای بیشترین تنوع گونه­ای و یکنواختی بودند. در بین کل نمونه­های جمع­آوری شده به­ترتیب گونه­های Gastrosericus funereus با 202 فرد (76/23 درصد)، گونه Sphex flavipennis با 156 فرد (58/17 درصد) و گونه Bembix bidentata با 76 فرد (5/8 درصد) بیشترین فراوانی را به خود اختصاص دادند. همچنین، هشت گونه به عنوان گونه­های نادر در مناطق مورد مطالعه شناخته شدند. تنوع و فراوانی زنبورهای Spheciformes در ماه­های اردیبهشت، خرداد و اوایل تیر در مناطق مورد مطالعه بیشتر است. این امر بیانگر اهمیت و تأثیر زنبورهای Spheciformes در مدیریت آفات در طول مدت فعالیت آفات می­باشد.

Two new crabronid wasps, Podagritus apivorus sp. n. and P. stuartae sp. n., are described from Western Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dryland wheat farming commonly uses a rotation of wheat to fallow between years but growers have begun to diversify crop rotations for a variety of environmental and economic reasons. Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata A.) and camelina (Camelina sativa L.), two oil seed crops, can be successfully grown in the Northern Great Plains (NGP) and could be a suitable fallow replacement. Native bees have declined in abundance and richness primarily due to conversion of natural habitat to row crops and honey bees have become increasingly difficult to manage in recent years. Thus, it is important to determine how flower visiting insects utilize novel crops. We collected flower visiting insects via weekly sweep netting events during two growing seasons to determine abundance and richness of bees and other insect pollinators on B. carinata, C. sativa, and a ten species cover crop. Overall, numerous native bees and other flower visiting insects were collected off all three potential fallow replacements. These crops may provide important floral resources for bees and other pollinators and could be used to improve pollinator resources within cropping systems of the NGP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mites and insects have different kinds of relationships with each other, which is very important to be studied. One of these relationships is parasitism, which is seen between larvae of terrestrial Parasitengona mites (Acari: Trombidiformes) and different active stages of insects. This study aimed to determine parasitic mites associated with the solitary wasps of the family Crabronidae. The presence of mites was investigated on 3247 wasp individuals belonging to 250 species from 53 genera. Among them, 32 specimens representing 23 species were parasitized by Leptus Latreille mite larvae. As a result, a total of 58 mite larvae were detected and two species, Leptus rosellae Haitlinger, 1999 and L. tridentatus Saboori, Hakimitabar & Khademi, 2018, were identified. The latter one has been reported for the first time from Türkiye and all mite-parasitized wasp species are new host records of both mite species. This study is the first record of the parasite-host relationship between the family Crabronidae and the genus Leptus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Larra Fabricius, 1793 (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) is recorded for the first time from Vietnam. Three species and two subspecies belonging to this genus as follows: L. amplipennis (F. Smith, 1873); L. carbonaria(F. Smith, 1858); L. fenchihuensis Tsuneki, 1967; L. polita polita(F. Smith, 1858) and L. polita luzonensis Rohwer, 1919 are presented. Keys to both sexes of the three species and two subspecies reported here are provided.

In the present study, new data about the distribution of 27 species of digger wasps (Hymenoptera: Spheciformes: Crabronidae) collected from different regions of province (southeast Iran) are presented. The specimens were collected at 21 localities using Malaise traps during March to September 2017. The identified species belong to three subfamilies: Bembicinae (three genera, seven species), Crabroninae (seven genera, 18 species) and Philanthinae (single genus, two species). Among them, two species, Gastrosericus moricei E. Saunders, 1910 and G. sabulosus Pulawski, 1995 are newly recorded for the Iranian fauna. Photographic illustrations of morphological characteristics of the newly recorded species are presented.

Insect wings are flexible structures composed of tubular veins and thin wing membranes. In many insect groups, wings contain distinct taxonomic characters which are easy to describe (e.g., the number and length of veins, the wing size, etc.). However, some insects may have abnormal specimens that have some veins or their parts missing, or to the contrary have additional veins on the wings. In this study, forewing abnormalities in 248 species of 53 solitary wasp genera belonging to the family Crabronidae (Hymenoptera) collected from Turkey were investigated for the first time. As a result, forewing abnormalities were detected in 37 species belonging to 18 genera from five subfamilies. In total, 20 cases of wing venation abnormalities, classified as: a) supernumerary veins, b) defective veins and c) supernumerary cells, were observed in 67 of 3244 specimens. The abnormalities were rather common in following three species Psammaecius punctulatus (Vander Linden, 1829) (n = 8, 11.94%), Bembix bidentata Vander Linden, 1829 (n = 6, 8.95%), and Bembecinus tridens (Fabricius, 1781) (n = 4, 7.46%). Nysson interruptus (Fabricius, 1798) and Nysson maculosus (Gmelin, 1790) are species with more than one abnormality on the same wing. Abnormalities were generally observed in males (n=50, 74.63%) rather than females (n=17, 25.37%). The mechanism of this phenomenon, which is thought to occur due to genetic, environmental or pathogenic reasons, has not yet been clarified in many insect groups, including Crabronidae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nesting in dense aggregations is common in central place foragers, such as group-living birds and insects. Both environmental heterogeneity and behavioral interactions are known to induce clustering of nests, but their relative importance remains unclear. We developed an individual-based model that simulated the spatial organization of nest building in a gregarious digger wasp, Bembix rostrata. This process-based model integrates environmental suitability, as derived from a microhabitat model, and relevant behavioral mechanisms related to local site fidelity and conspecific attraction. The drivers behind the nesting were determined by means of inverse modeling in which the emerging spatial and network patterns from simulations were compared with those observed in the field. Models with individual differences in behavior that include the simultaneous effect of a weak environmental cue and strong behavioral mechanisms yielded the best fit to the field data. The nest pattern formation of a central place foraging insect cannot be considered as the sum of environmental and behavioral mechanisms. We demonstrate the use of inverse modeling to understand complex processes that underlie nest aggregation in nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insect populations show strong temporal fluctuations in abundance. This renders classical monitoring studies extremely difficult to provide insights into specific management actions. For rare species of conservation concern, it is not an option to develop large scale experiments to assess and steer landscape‐level actions such as grazing management.Bembix rostrata (Linnaeus, 1758) is a threatened digger wasp from coastal dunes and inland sandy regions occurring in a limited number of populations in NW Europe. Since coastal dunes are rapidly being encroached by bushes, grazing management (cattle, sheep, and horses) has been implemented to keep this biotope open.In order to provide insights for local evidence based conservation, a BACI (before/after and control/impact) experiment was set up to assess the impact of sheep grazing on B. rostrata. We quantified the number of nests during 3 years at two grazed sites and a control‐site excluded from grazing. We additionally assessed grazing pressure.The BACI design allowed us to directly adjust the current grazing management. The implemented sheep grazing reduced densities of B. rostrata, but did not lead to its local extinction. We discuss these findings in relation to the biology of the species.Our efficient and effective experimental design allowed a fast assessment of the current grazing management and showed that spatially heterogeneous sheep grazing could be used as a management tool to ensure the conservation of the emblematic digger wasp B. rostrata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bembix rostrata (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) is a conspicuous digger wasp, which is one of the most threatened species of bees and wasps in central Europe. Its distribution is restricted to sites with grey dunes or similar habitats, which B. rostrata needs for nesting. In the years 2012–2014, we have studied the ecological factors influencing the presence of this species in two localities in the Czech Republic, where this species is still relatively abundant. We found that B. rostrata needs continuity in the characteristics of the locality in time because B. rostrata avoids settling in newly emerging localities with the appropriate substrate. The decline in localities of B. rostrata in the Czech Republic correlated with habitat loss due to afforestation, incorrect conservational management, and isolation of the localities. The newly formed anthropogenic sites with fine-grained loose substrates, such as sandpits or fly ash deposits, were not colonised by B. rostrata. This is in sharp contrast with another species of the genus, Bembix tarsata, which is also endangered, but successfully settled in many bare sand patches on former lignite spoil heaps in the north-west of the country. We found that both species hunt Diptera as a prey for their larvae; both are generalists with a preference for species of the family Syrphidae. Unexpectedly, we found workers of the honeybee Apis mellifera captured as a prey for larvae of B. rostrata. Implications for insect conservation Newly applied management tools, such as army vehicles use, manual sand scraping, or plant cover removal, have a positive effect on populations of B. rostrata, as well as on other species with similar ecological requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Odontosphex Arnold, 1951 is newly recorded from Central Asia. A new species, Odontosphex leleji sp. nov., is described and illustrated based on males from Turkmenistan (Badkhyz Nature Reserve, Eroyulanduz valley). Keys to males and females of all known species of Odontosphex are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pison koreense (Radoszkowski), an alien crabronid native of East Asia but introduced in North America and in Germany, was collected for the first time in Italy (Veneto).

Chemoreceptors help insects to interact with their environment, to detect and assess food sources and oviposition sites, and to aid in intra- and interspecific communication. In Hymenoptera, species of eusocial lineages possess large chemoreceptor gene repertoires compared with solitary species, possibly because of their additional need to recognize nest-mates and caste. However, a critical piece of information missing so far has been the size of chemoreceptor gene repertoires of solitary apoid wasps. Apoid wasps are a paraphyletic group of almost exclusively solitary Hymenoptera phylogenetically positioned between ant and bee, both of which include eusocial species. We report the chemosensory-related gene repertoire sizes of three apoid wasps: Ampulex compressa , Cerceris arenaria , and Psenulus fuscipennis. We annotated genes encoding odorant (ORs), gustatory, and ionotropic receptors and chemosensory soluble proteins and odorant-binding proteins in transcriptomes of chemosensory tissues of the above three species and in early draft genomes of two species, A. compressa and C. arenaria. Our analyses revealed that apoid wasps possess larger OR repertoires than any bee lineage, that the last common ancestor of Apoidea possessed a considerably larger OR repertoire (∼160) than previously estimated (73), and that the expansion of OR genes in eusocial bees was less extensive than previously assumed. Intriguingly, the evolution of pollen-collecting behavior in the stem lineage of bees was associated with a notable loss of OR gene diversity. Thus, our results support the view that herbivorous Hymenoptera tend to possess smaller OR repertoires than carnivorous, parasitoid, or kleptoparasitic species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Trypoxylon Latreille, 1796 (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae) consists of 633 known species worldwide and the genus is divided into numerous species groups. In Vietnam, 19 species of Trypoxylon have been recorded to date. In this study, a new species, Trypoxylonsicklum Pham and Antropov sp. nov. is described and illustrated from Vinh Phuc Province, Vietnam. The new species is the second member of the Trypoxylonfulvocollare species group. A key to species in the Trypoxylonfulvocollaris group is presented., New Information: Trypoxylonsicklum Pham and Antropov sp. nov., is described as a new species and is the second member of the Trypoxylonfulvocollare species group. A key to species in the Trypoxylonfulvocollaris group is presented., (Phong Huy Pham, Alexander V. Antropov, Hieu Van Nguyen.)

The complete mitochondrial genome of the Cerceris quinquefasciata (Rossi, 1792) (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) was obtained via next-generation sequencing. This mitochondrial genome is 16,188 bp in length with 37 classical eukaryotic mitochondrial genes and two A + T-rich region. All the 13 PCGs begin with typical ATN codons. Among them, eleven PCG genes terminate with TAA, two with T–. All of the 22 tRNA genes, ranging from 58 to 72 bp with typical cloverleaf structure except for trnS1, whose dihydrouridine (DHU) arm forms a simple loop. Phylogenetic analysis highly supported Crabronidae is the sister group of anthophila bees.

The complete mitochondrial genome of the Cerceris bucculata (A. Costa, 1860) (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) was obtained via next-generation sequencing. This mitochondrial genome is 16178 bp in length with 37 classical eukaryotic mitochondrial genes and an A + T-rich region. All the 13 PCGs begin with typical ATN codons. Among them, eleven PCG genes terminate with TAA, two with T––. All of the 22 tRNA genes, ranging from 58 to 72 bp with typical cloverleaf structure except for trnS1, whose dihydrouridine (DHU) arm forms a simple loop. Phylogenetic analysis highly supported Crabronidae shown as sister group of anthophila bees.

This study is based on the material of the genus Tachysphex Kohl, 1883 (Crabronidae: Hymenoptera) collected from different localities of Tunusia between 2017 and 2019. In this study, a total of 38 species and subspecies are recorded. Among them, Tachysphex mauretanus Puławski, 1971 and T. sericans gracilis Puławski, 1971 are new records for Tunisian fauna. New provincial records are cited for the majority of newly collected species. Digital photographs for general view of newly collected species are provided. Distribution in Tunisia and in the world of identified taxa is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crabronid wasp Lindenius abditus Kohl, 1898 is recorded for the first time from Turkey. Recorded species are described and taxonomically important morphological characters are photographed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]