Eumenes dubius

Eumenes dubius
Eumenes dubius. Male
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Vespidae
Genus:	Eumenes
Species:	E. dubius
Binomial name
Eumenes dubius Saussure, 1852

Eumenes dubius is a species of potter wasp in the subfamily Eumeninae of the family Vespidae.^[1]

Subspecies

• Eumenes dubius dubius Saussure, 1852
• Eumenes dubius palaestinensis Blüthgen, 1938^[2]

Distribution

This species can be found in southern Europe and in the Near East (Spain, France, Italy, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Russia, Persia and Turkey).^[3][4][5]

Description

Eumenes dubius can reach a length of about 13 millimetres. The first metasomal segment is narrow and elongated, creating a "bulbous" appearance to the abdomen. Body is black with yellow markings. These wasps lack of standing hairs on the first tergum and show a very short general pilosity, with a short pubescence on head's rear. In males clypeus is long, with smooth and bright yellow free margin. Mandibles are orange yellow, basally spotted. In the females scape is ventrally yellow, while dorsally it is orange-yellow, with a thin black line on flagellomeres 3-9. These flagellomeres are black dorsally, while the others are orange-yellow. The last flagellomere is recurved.^[5]

Biology

These potter wasp are predatory of caterpillars. They build cells which are complete spherical pots.^[6]

Bibliography

• Antonio Giordani Soika (1952) Bull.Soc.Sci.nat.Maroc Hyménoptères réecoltés par une Mission suisse au Maroc (1947), Volume: 32 Pages: 235-267
• Horst-Günter Woydak (2001) Natur und Heimat Die solitären Faltenwespen: Eumenidae (Lehmwespen) und Masaridae (Honigwespen im Westfälischen Museum für Naturkunde Münster, Volume: 61 Pages: 85-95

References