Deuteragenia ossarium

Deuteragenia ossarium
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Suborder:	Apocrita
Family:	Pompilidae
Genus:	Deuteragenia
Species:	D. ossarium
Binomial name
Deuteragenia ossarium Ohl, 2014

Deuteragenia ossarium, "the Bone-house Wasp" is a South-East China species of pompilid wasp named after graveyard bone-houses or ossuaries, from its characteristic use of a vestibular cell filled with dead ants which is built by the female wasp to close the nest after she lays her eggs.^[1][2]

This technique is theorized to make the species' nests less vulnerable to predatory enemies than nests of other sympatric trap-nesting wasps, possibly by utilizing chemical cues in odors from the dead ants to camouflage the nest from predators, or repel them.^[1][2]

The ant most frequently found in the vestibular cell was Pachycondyla astuta, an aggressive species with a potent sting.^[2] D. ossarium parasitism rates were significantly lower than other cavity-nesting wasp species.^[1]

References cited