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Sapyga quinquepunctata

Authority:

(Fabricius,1781)

Identification keys and general biology are given in Richards (1980), Gauld and Bolton (1988) and Yeo & Corbet (1995).

Distribution:

Cornwall to Kent, and north to Westmorland and North-east Yorkshire.

Overseas found in much of Europe (including Norway, Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Greece, Malta, Cyprus; the Middle East (Syria, Jordan, Israel, Turkey) and north Africa (Tunisia, Morocco).

Status (in Britain only):

This species is not regarded as being scarce or threatened.

Habitat:

Found in a wide variety of open habitats: woodland and shrubland, lowland heaths, chalk quarries, coastal cliffs, gardens and cemeteries. Often found flying around the nest sites of its hosts: mud, walls, holes in mortar, dead wood, old wooden posts, and snail shells.

Flight period:

Univoltine. Males are found during May and June, and rarely in July. Females occur mainly during June, often during May and July, or more rarely in April and August. In Cumbria, females may occasionally be found flying in mid-August (V. Russell 2016, pers. comm)

Taxonomic hierarchy:

Sapyga quinquepunctata

Flowers visited:

Thyme (Thymus sp, - Lamiaceae) is the only plant recorded in the BWARS Atlas, but it has since been seen foraging for nectar at flowers of Forget-me-not (Myosotis sp. - Boraginageae (J. Early 2016 pers. comm) and Fleabane (Pulicaria dysenterica - Asteraceae) in northern Cumbria (V. Russell 2016 pers.comm.).

Parasitic biology:

Cleptoparasitic on bees of the genus Osmia (O. bicornis (Linnaeus), O. leaiana (Kirby) and O. aurulenta (Panzer), O. caerulescens (Linnaeus) (Else, in prep.)) and Chelostoma. The female enters the nest of the host and lays an egg on or near the egg of the host. Gauld and Bolton (1988) indicate that the sting is used to penetrate the cell wall, thus acting as an ovipositor. P Westrich (pers.com., 1999) says that the egg is placed directly in the cell. On hatching, the first instar larva, which has large mandibles, eats the egg of the host. Later instars have smaller mandibles and feed on the stored food of the host.

Author of profile:

M E Archer.

Year profile last updated:

SR - August 2016

Hedychridium cupreum

Authority:

(Dahlbom,1845)

Previously known as H. integrum (Dahlbom, 1854). Identification keys and general biology are given in Morgan (1984), Gauld and Bolton (1988), Kunz (1994) and Linsenmaier (1997).

Distribution:

Dorset to West Sussex, north to Cumberland and South-east Yorkshire. Channel Islands.

Overseas found in many parts of Europe, particularly in the north (including Sweden, Finland, Denmark, The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italian Alps, Poland, Austria, and Hungary).

Status (in Britain only):

Falk (1991) lists this species as Notable B [now known as Scarce (Nb)].

Habitat:

Found in open sandy situations, including coastal dunes, heathlands and disturbed locations such as sand pits.

Flight period:

Univoltine. From June until August but mainly during July.

Taxonomic hierarchy:

Hedychridium cupreum

Flowers visited:

No information available.

Parasitic biology:

A parasitoid on the mature larvae, or a cleptoparasite on the food stores of the sphecid wasp Dryudella pinguis (Dahlbom). The female enters the subterranean burrow of its host and lays an egg in each of the cells. No further information has been found.

Author of profile:

M E Archer.

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