Pemphredon morio Vander Linden,1892
Description and notes
Richards (1980) and other authors separated this species from P. clypealis Thomson, but recently the two species have been synonymised under P. morio. Lomholdt (1984) refers to the two as separate species and places them in a separate genus, Ceratophorus.
Distribution
In discussing the two synonymised species, Falk (1991) states that P. morio occurs from southern England northwards to south Wales, south Lancashire and north-east Yorkshire, a pattern shown to largely hold true for this atlas project.
Bitsch et al. (2001) note its occurrence in north and central Europe, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Japan. Lomholdt (1984) describes its distribution in Fennoscandia as being patchy but locally frequent.
Status (in Britain only)
Shirt (1987) listed this species as being Rare (RDB3), separate from P. clypealis, which was also accorded RDB3 status. However, the status for the combined species pair was revised to Notable B (now known as Nationally Scarce Nb) by Falk (1991).
Habitat
Recorded from a range of habitats where suitable nesting habitat is found, including, occasionally, gardens.
Flight period
Late May to August.
Prey collected
In keeping with other Pemphredon species, aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) are the prey species for this wasp.
Nesting biology
This species nests in old wood, including fence posts and house timbers in sunny locations. Lomholdt (1984) describes a branched nest tunnel, with each side-branch ending in a cell.
Flowers visited
No data available.
Parasites
No data available.
Year profile last updated
2012