Two-speckled Cuckoo Spider Wasp (Ceropales bipunctata)

I have a pinned insect collection, and I collect specimens for it frequently (going out every day with a couple jars). This time of year, all the goldenrod blooms at my school. My school, Cardinal Newman Academy, is very small, however the space is sprawling and open. One of my personal favorite places to go there is what's called "The Field". It's a mown field, however there is brush all around the edges, that isn't tended to. The goldenrod is there,  and since this field is at a forest edge, this is prime habitat for spider wasps. I often find spider wasps there, and some of these are fascinating. For example, one species I have is a kleptoparasite of other spider wasps: Ceropales bipunctata. The species actually follows other spider wasps as they're dragging their spider prey to a burrow. Then, it lays a concealed egg in the prey (once it's abandoned, so the original captor can inspect the burrow for parasites), and so does the other female. The other female has no idea the other egg is there, and so continues to drag the prey into the burrow. Well, the C. bipunctata egg hatches first, eats the other egg, and then it eats the spider. See photos for physical features. I thought this was a sphecid wasp at first, seeing as it looked nothing like a pompilid to me. Then Dr. Arthur V. Evans IDed it as a pompilid (quite unexpectedly), and then as Ceropales bipunctata. This ID has led me on an exciting journey to learn as much as I can about this one, and now here I am writing about it.  


My pinned specimen, a male.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Double Post: Poecilopompilus algidus and P. interruptus

Image
The most fascinating family of wasps, in my opinion, is Pompilidae; that is, the spider wasps. As Eric R. Eaton put it in the Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America, " Spider wasps (family Pompilidae) are solitary, high-strung hunters".  In this post, I would like to focus on one genus: Poecilopompilus. This is one of the prettier genera, and P. interruptus mimics paper wasps.  Poecilopompilus interruptus (Interrupted Spider Wasp): pigsonthewing, Wikimedia Commons Poecilopompilus algidus (Frigid Spider Wasp): Xsanka, Wikimedia Commons Poecilopompilus are one of the larger genera of spider wasps in the eastern United States. They are, as the pictures above make evident, variable between species. The adult females, much like any other spider wasp, hunt large wolf spiders. They will dig a burrow after prey capture. During nest excavation, they cache the prey nearby, and it is then at risk of being parasitized. The wasps attempt to combat this by checking on the prey oft...
Read more

Ponerini in the City: Hypoponera opacior

Image
 I usually think of members of the tribe Ponerini as nesting in wood, in the suburbs. Recently, however, I've found a species that nests in the city sometimes. It's Hypoponera opacior, and it is a rather small ant.   Ponerines, in general, can be distinguished from most other ants by the sleek, cylndrical body, and often fast serpentine movements. The genus and species we are looking at today is distinguishable by it's small size, and the petiole being smooth. It's often found under wood, in wood, or in dirt under rocks and concrete.  I've found this species nesting by my house, and in Byrd park. It isn't something I usually find in cities, as they usually like more undisturbed habitats. Ants are the most diverse in nesting habitats, though, so I'm not that surprised.  In terms of diet, this species eats springtails and other small soft-bodied insects. They can scavenge bigger prey such as crickets and soft-bodied beetles. 
Read more

Red Milkweed Beetle (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus)

Image
 As I stated in a previous post (see Locust Borer), beetles are fascinating and diverse, with varying diets, habits, sizes, and patterns. Well, the subject of this post will be the Red Milkweed Beetle, Tetraopes tetrophthalmus. The beetle is of the family Cerambycidae (the Longhorn beetles), which are somewhat known for their interesting and vivid patterns.  Many people who don't study insects will recognize the foodplant as that of the famous-yet-declining Monarch: Milkweed! However, sometimes, they feed on dogbane when no milkweed is present. These beetles employ a tactic called aposematic coloration,  which is what makes Monarchs so appealing to the eyes. Aposematic coloration, often a combination of red and black, is meant to deter predators by advertising a poisonous nature.  These beetles sequester toxins from milkweed, which is poisonous, as do the Monarch caterpillars. Milkweed gets its name from the fact that it "bleeds milk", or rather a latex-like substanc...
Read more