Coexistence of Cerceris fumipennis and Cerceris nigrescens colonies in Merritt, BC
Keywords:
Cerceris, Crabronidae, wasp nesting behaviourAbstract
Cerceris fumipennis Say (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) is a solitary ground nesting wasp that provisions it subterranean nests with paralyzed jewel beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). Cerceris fumipennis colonies were discovered for the 1st time in BC in 2012 at Central Park in Merritt. While collecting data on C. fumipennis at the Merritt colony in 2014, five female Cerceris nigrescens Smith were captured in a sweep net and one female had a single clover rootweevil, Sitona hispidulus Fabricius (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in her grasp. One Cerceris nigrescens and a C.fumipennis nest were both excavated demonstrating that the former created brood cells from 3.8 to 7.6 cm below grade, while the latter dug cells 8 to 15.3 cm beneath the surface.References
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