Ceropales maculata
| Ceropales maculata | |
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| Ceropales maculata fraterna | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Pompilidae |
| Genus: | Ceropales |
| Species: | C. maculata
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| Binomial name | |
| Ceropales maculata (Fabricius, 1775)
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| Synonyms | |
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Ceropales maculata is a kleptoparasitic spider wasp, belonging to the family Pompilidae. this species is found in the Holarctic region.[2][3]
Taxonomy
[edit]Ceropales maculata was first formally described as Evania maculata in 1775 by the Danish zoologist Johan Christian Fabricius with its type locality given as England.[4] This species is now classified in the genus Ceropales which is one of two genera in the subfamily Ceropalinae within the spider wasp family Pompilidae.[5]
Description
[edit]Cerpales maculata is a small spider wasp. Females are 6-9 mm in length, and males are 5-7.5 mm. There are distinct with bold white markings on its black body. The legs are orange-red, with the hind legs being very long. In a British context the absence of a red band on the abdomen identifies this species from C. variegata. Males can be told apart from females by their smaller size, slender shape and in having no ovipositor protruding from the abdomen.[6]
Biology
[edit]Ceropales maculata is an uncommon spider wasp. This species intercepts other spider wasps engaged in prey transport and lays its eggs in the book lung of the captured spider. C. maculata then allows the other spider wasp to return to its nest, where the C. maculata larvae hatch, search for, find and eat the host egg, before it consumes the spider.[7][8]
Spider wasps kleptoparasitised by C. maculata include species in the genera Priocnemis, Pompilus, Agenioideus, Arachnospila, Anoplius, Episyron and Auplopus in Britain and Europe. Other species of non-Pompilid solitary wasp which use spiders as prey, for example the crabronid Miscophus, may also be parasitised by C. maculata.[7]
This species is univoltine; adults are seen from May to September.[2] The adults have been observed feeding on wild carrot (Daucus carota) flowers.[9]
Habitat
[edit]Ceroplaes maculata can be found in sandy areas such as heathlands, coastal dunes and sand pits.[2]
Distribution
[edit]Ceroplaes maculata has a Holarctic distribution and is found in both North America and Eurasia.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ "Ceropales maculata maculata". Eunis.eea.europa.eu. Retrieved 2012-04-07.
- ^ a b c Edwards R. & Broad G. (eds), 1998, Provisional Atlas for the aculeate Hymenoptera of Britain and Ireland Part 2, NERC ISBN 1-870393-42-2
- ^ "Ceropales maculata | Taxonomy Browser". www.boldsystems.org. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
- ^ Fabricius, Johann Christian (1775). Systema entomologiae : sistens insectorvm classes, ordines, genera, species, adiectis synonymis, locis, descriptionibvs, observationibvs. In Officina Libraria Kortii.
- ^ Kimsey L. S. & Wasbauer M. S. (2004). "Revision of New World Species of the Cleptoparasitic Pompilid Genus Irenangelus Schulz (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae)". Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society. 77 (4): 650–668.
- ^ Steven Falk. "Ceropales maculata (Spotted Ceropales)". Steven Falk. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
- ^ a b Day, M. C. (1988). "Spider wasps." Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects. Vol. 6.4. p. 15.
- ^ "Heathland Pompilidae". Natureconservationimaging.com. Retrieved 2012-04-07.
- ^ A. S. Davidson (2020). "Ceropales maculata (Fabricius, 1775)". Bees Wasps & Ants Recording Society. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
- ^ "Ceropales maculata". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 28 April 2025.