TiphiidaeGuerinius shuckardi Pentazeleboria janeta Tiphiid Flower Wasp (family Tiphiidae)
Guerinius shuckardi is currently listed in iNaturalistAU as belonging to the Thynnid Flower Wasps family Thynnidae, subfamily Thynninae, although Atlas of Living Australia has it listed in the family Tiphiidae, subfamily Thynninae.1, 2
The following photographs of Guerinius shuckardi were taken in the Ulladulla Wildflower Reserve on the south coast of NSW.
The eyes of Thynnidae are not emarginate and that can be seen in these photos. (Compare with Scoliidae which does have emarginate eyes).
Thynninae tend to have a characteristically shaped pronotum which curves backwards from the neck for a further distance than most other families. It extends laterally more than most too (Pompilidae are similar though).
The wingless female further confirms this as Thynninae. Note that the second tergite of the female is multi-carinate transversely which is a common characteristic in Thynnidae.
Most Thynninae have a small “spur vein” on the first submarginal cell of the forewing.
Interestingly, the following photos show the male feeding the female mouth-to-mouth by regurgitating from his crop. Most other observations of females feeding show them drawing from nectar or honeydew stashed on the hairs on the ventral surface of the male.
- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Subphylum: Hexapoda
- Class: Insecta
- Subclass: Pterygota
- Order: Hymenoptera
- Suborder: Apocrita
- Infraorder: Aculeata
- Superfamily: Thynnoidea
- Family: Thynnidae
- Subfamily: Thynninae
- Genus: Guerinius
- Species: Guerinius shuckardi
Source: iNaturalistAU (18 Dec 2024)
- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Subphylum: Hexapoda
- Class: Insecta
- Informal: Pterygotes
- Order: Hymenoptera
- Superfamily: Vespoidea
- Family: Tiphiidae
- Subfamily: Thynninae
- Genus: Guerinius
- Species: Guerinius shuckardi
Source: Atlas of Living Australia (18 Dec 2024)
Footnote & References
- Guerinius shuckardi (Guérin-Méneville, 1842), Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/Guerinius shuckardi
- Guerinius shuckardi, iNaturalistAU, https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/1595649-Guerinius-shuckardi
- Getting to know flower wasps, by Kerri-Lee Harris, 27 October 2020, Life in a Southern Forest, https://southernforestlife.net/happenings/2020/10/flower-wasps
TiphiidaeGuerinius shuckardi Pentazeleboria janeta Tiphiid Flower Wasp (family Tiphiidae)
WaspsWasps Index Australian Large Wasps Australian Mud Nest Wasps Mud Wasp Velvet Ants Abispa ephippium Acarozumia amaliae Aulacidae Australodynerus Bembix Bembicinae Bethylidae Blue Hairy Flower Wasp Braconidae Chrysididae Cryptocheilus Delta latreillei (Potter Wasp) Delta philantes Eumeninae Euodynerus aspra Ferreola handschini (Orange-collared Spider Wasp) Flower Wasps Gasteruptiid Wasp Hairy Flower Wasps Isodontia (Grass-carrying Wasp) Lissopimpla excelsa (Orchid Dupe Wasp) Mutillidae Orange Wasps Paralastor sp. Pseudabispa bicolor ssp. nigrocinctoides Radumeris radula (Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp) Radumeris tasmaniensis (Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp) Sceliphron laetum Sphex Thynnid Wasps Tiphiidae Torymus Yellow and Black Wasp
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