Common Spiny Digger Wasp - Oxybelus uniglumis
A solitary digger wasp with one submarginal cell in the forewing and an indistinct vein between the submarginal cell and cell 7. The propodeum (the back of the pronotum next to the 'waist' or petiole of the abdomen) has a large spine with a rounded end, and the scutellum has two transparent flanges; the mandibles are dark brown/black.
Other digger wasps. Several other very similar Oxybelus species exist but have not been recorded in VC55
Good field photos and detailed photos of specimen showing wing venation, mandibles and propodeum/scutellum
sandy places - including golf-course bunkers (ref BWARS webpage)
Burrows are dug in flat or sloping bare sandy soil, each burrow containing a few nest cells. The female hunts flies, paralyses them with her sting and places them in each cell, and then lays her eggs on the flies. (ref BWARS webpage for the species https://bwars.com/index.php/wasp/crabronidae/crabroninae/oxybelus-uniglumis)
occasionally recorded
Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society (BWARS)
sue
East Goscote, Long Furrow park, the Dog Walk
02 July 2024
sue
East Goscote, Long Furrow park, the Dog Walk
02 July 2024
spine on propodeum and flanges on scutellum
sue
East Goscote, Long Furrow park, the Dog Walk
02 July 2024
dark mandibles
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Species profile
- Common names
- Common Spiny Digger Wasp
- Species group:
- Bees, Wasps, Ants
- Kingdom:
- Animalia
- Order:
- Hymenoptera
- Family:
- Crabronidae
- Records on NatureSpot:
- 1
- First record:
- 02/07/2024 (Timms, Sue)
- Last record:
- 02/07/2024 (Timms, Sue)
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% of records within its species group
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