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TranslateBembix oculata
Bembix oculate (Panzer, 1801) body length 11mm to 18mm, Females are yellow and black with a distinctive pair of black eyespots on the 2nd abdominal segment. Males are often black with cream/whitish markings instead of the vivid yellow markings of the female.
The Bembicini, or sand wasps, are a large tribe of Crabronid wasps comprising 20 genera mainly found in the southerly Mediterranean regions of Spain, such as here; in the Alicante area of Spain. Although some species can be found as far north as Denmark and Sweden.
Bembicines are predators on various groups of insects. Diptera (flies) are the common prey captured and this is consistent within each genus. Nests are simple burrows variable in length depending on the soil density, which ends in one or more cells with an enlarged chamber at the bottom which is stocked with freshly killed prey for the developing wasp larva. (The female may sometimes lay the egg before the chamber is completely stocked) It will take about two weeks for the developing lava to become an adult, during which time the caring mother will have provided numerous flies for it to feed on; after each visit she will carefully reseal the nest.
It is common for numerous females to excavate nests within a small area where the soil is suitable, creating large and sometimes very dense nesting zones. Unfortunately for the sand wasp this tends attract various species of parasitic flies and wasps that parasitize wasp nests, many of which are cleptoparasitic. The Bee-fly being one of the main rogues, but this can also include Cuckoo wasps (Chrysididae), Velvet ants (wasps in the family Mutillidae), Satalite flies (Sarcophagidae), Parasitic thick-headed flies (Conopidae). Other common threats come from being killed outright by the formidable Robberfly and Spider.
Frequently the tables are turned and the sand wasp will prey on their own parasites, especially the Bee-Fly; a surprisingly rare phenomenon in the animal kingdom.
Images below show both sexes, the female having more yellow colouration, instead of male's pale cream to white colouring, between the black markings.
Read MoreThe Bembicini, or sand wasps, are a large tribe of Crabronid wasps comprising 20 genera mainly found in the southerly Mediterranean regions of Spain, such as here; in the Alicante area of Spain. Although some species can be found as far north as Denmark and Sweden.
Bembicines are predators on various groups of insects. Diptera (flies) are the common prey captured and this is consistent within each genus. Nests are simple burrows variable in length depending on the soil density, which ends in one or more cells with an enlarged chamber at the bottom which is stocked with freshly killed prey for the developing wasp larva. (The female may sometimes lay the egg before the chamber is completely stocked) It will take about two weeks for the developing lava to become an adult, during which time the caring mother will have provided numerous flies for it to feed on; after each visit she will carefully reseal the nest.
It is common for numerous females to excavate nests within a small area where the soil is suitable, creating large and sometimes very dense nesting zones. Unfortunately for the sand wasp this tends attract various species of parasitic flies and wasps that parasitize wasp nests, many of which are cleptoparasitic. The Bee-fly being one of the main rogues, but this can also include Cuckoo wasps (Chrysididae), Velvet ants (wasps in the family Mutillidae), Satalite flies (Sarcophagidae), Parasitic thick-headed flies (Conopidae). Other common threats come from being killed outright by the formidable Robberfly and Spider.
Frequently the tables are turned and the sand wasp will prey on their own parasites, especially the Bee-Fly; a surprisingly rare phenomenon in the animal kingdom.
Images below show both sexes, the female having more yellow colouration, instead of male's pale cream to white colouring, between the black markings.
