Philanthus triangulum
| European beewolf | ||||||||||||||||
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| Philanthus triangulum (Fabricius, 1775) |
Philanthus triangulum, or the European beewolf is a solitary wasp, that lives in Europe and Northern Africa. Though the adults of the species are herbivores (feeding on nectar and pollen), the species gets its name from the fact that the inseminated females hunt Western honey bees, paralyze them, placing several in a small underground chamber and laying an egg in the chamber with them, where they then serve as food for the wasp larvae. All members of the genus Philanthus hunt various species of bees, but P. triangulum is apparently the only one that specializes on Western honey bees.
Status in the UK
This wasp was previously considered to be one of the great aculeate rarities in Britain, with colonies only in sandy habitats on the Isle of Wight and Suffolk. It has undergone an expansion in range, with the wasp now locally common in a steadily increasing number of sites as far north as Yorkshire (2002). The species has RDB2 status (vulnerable) but, if revised, it is now likely that this status will be removed because of its increase in range and population.[1]
External links
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