Philanthus triangulum

Taxobox | name = European beewolf

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image_width = 240px
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Insecta
ordo = Hymenoptera
familia = Crabronidae
subfamilia = Philanthinae
genus = "Philanthus"
species = "P. triangulum"
binomial = "Philanthus triangulum"
binomial_authority = (Fabricius, 1775)

"Philanthus triangulum", or the European beewolf is a solitary wasp, that lives in Europe and Northern Africa. Though the adults of the species are herbivores (feeding on nectar and pollen), the species gets its name from the fact that the inseminated females hunt Western honey bees, paralyze them, placing several in a small underground chamber and laying an egg in the chamber with them, where they then serve as food for the wasp larvae. All members of the genus "Philanthus" hunt various species of bees, but "P. triangulum" is apparently the only one that specializes in Western honey bees.

tatus in the UK

This wasp was previously considered to be one of the great aculeate rarities in Britain, with colonies only in sandy habitats on the Isle of Wight and Suffolk. It has undergone an expansion in range, with the wasp now locally common in a steadily increasing number of sites as far north as Yorkshire (2002). The species has RDB2 status (vulnerable) but, if revised, it is now likely that this status will be removed because of its increase in range and population. [http://www.essexfieldclub.org.uk/portal/p/Species+Account/s/Philanthus%20triangulum]

External links

* [http://www.biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de/beewolfbiology.html Biology of the European beewolf]
* [http://www.pherobase.com/database/species/species-Philanthus-triangulum.php Semiochemicals of "Philanthus triangulum", the European beewolves]
* [http://www.david.element.ukgateway.net/hymenoptera1beekillerwasps.htm Bee-killer wasps]
* [http://www.biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de/beewolf_pheromone.html Evolution of the sex pheromone of male European beewolves]
* [http://naturenet.net/blogs/index.php/2007/07/25/philanthus Short video of Philanthus excavating nest in UK]