Cerceris quadricincta (Panzer,1799)
Distribution
A very rare wasp, with records from Essex and Kent only. However, it is encouraging to note that there have been a number of recent records from Kent.
Status (in Britain only)
Currently listed as Endangered (RDB1) in Shirt (1987) and Falk (1991).
Habitat
The species is apparently associated with light, sandy soils in which it excavates its nesting burrows. For example, G H L Dicker (pers. comm.) found specimens flying over exposed sand at the training area of the Royal School of Military Engineering at Upnor, Kent, between 1977 and 1984.
Flight period
Single-brooded; mid-July to mid-September.
Nesting biology
Apparently not known. The cells are provisioned with weevils (Richards, 1980). Falk (1991) erroneously listed, under the name Cerceris quadricincta, prey records cited by Lomholdt (1976) for C. quadrifasciata, a species not known from the British Isles.
Year profile last updated
1997