Distribution of the sand wasp Bicyrtes variegatus (Oliver, 1789) (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae) in the Galápagos Islands, with notes on its ecology

By

C. Román, Andrea
Picón Rentería, Patricio
Causton, Charlotte
Betancourt, Lenyn
Frey, Catherine
Herrera, Henri W.

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2024

Original Publication

Journal of Hymenoptera research

Volume

97

Pages

531--539

Subjects

Bembicinae , flower visitors , mating , sand wasp

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Washington, D.C International Society of Hymenopterists

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.97.123966

 

Abstract

Very little is known about the sand wasp, Bicyrtes variegatus, in the Galápagos archipelago. In this study, we compiled information from surveys, museum collections and the literature to better understand its distribution and ecology. We found records of B. variegatus on seven islands with the earliest known record from 1964, from San Cristóbal Island. Wasps have been collected in the littoral, arid, transition and humid vegetation zones and have been reported visiting endemic, native, cryptogenic, and introduced plants. Sun dances and a tight cluster of wasps, similar in form to what others have called “mating balls”, were observed in the hot season.