{"id":14386,"date":"2023-10-11T14:06:17","date_gmt":"2023-10-11T19:06:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/?p=14386"},"modified":"2023-10-11T14:54:39","modified_gmt":"2023-10-11T19:54:39","slug":"monochromatic-stink-bug-hunting-wasp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/bug-of-the-week\/monochromatic-stink-bug-hunting-wasp\/","title":{"rendered":"Monochromatic Stink Bug-Hunting Wasp"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Note: All links leave to external sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Howdy, BugFans,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another wasp with a dynamite name! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the BugLady found this wasp, she was struck by its curious appearance \u2013 fly-like eyes, waspy antennae, \u201cbroad-shouldered,\u201d but with a very short abdomen (\u201cIt\u2019s compact<\/em>,\u201d says bugguide.net<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s in the family Crabronidae<\/em>, the Sand wasps and Square-headed wasps, which have been featured before, most recently in the form of the Robust katydid-hunting wasp.\u00a0Crabronidae<\/em> is a large family that used to be lumped with the solitary wasps in the family Sphecidae, the mud daubers, sand wasps, and hunting wasps.\u00a0There are lots of Crabronid<\/em> species worldwide; they create egg chambers and cache paralyzed invertebrates in them for their eventual larvae to eat, and many species are very fussy about the kinds of prey they collect. Adults feed on nectar.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monochromatic Stink Bug-Hunting Wasps (Astata unicolor<\/em>) (probably) live in grasslands and savannas (members of the genus Astata<\/em> can be hard to differentiate, but the MSBHW is a widespread species in the East). Astata <\/em>comes from the Greek word astatos<\/em>, meaning \u201crestless<\/em>.\u201d According to the Minnesota Seasons<\/em> website, it\u2019s found \u201cacross southern Canada, throughout the United States and Mexico, and in Central America<\/em>\u201d but is not common anywhere. Habitat\/soil types probably help determine a species presence.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are very alert, curious, and fast-flying little (half-inch) wasps, with dark-tipped wings and a coating of silvery hairs. The males\u2019 wrap-around (holoptic) eyes are typical of the genus. Here\u2019s a Glamour Shot<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A female MSBHW\u2019s prey of choice are the mature nymphs and adults of a few genera of stink bugs, including the Spined stink bug<\/a>. Out West, their menu also includes the Western box elder bug.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Males sit on perches to scout for females (those big eyes come in handy) \u2013 males emerge as adults about two weeks before females do, and they set up territories while they\u2019re waiting (cherchez la femme<\/em>). They advertise by making brief, circular forays from perches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Females dig tunnels as deep as 14\u201d in loose soil. Heather Holm, in her epic book Wasps, Their Biology, Diversity, and Role as Beneficial Insects and Pollinators of Native Plants, writes that \u201cafter mating, the female begins excavating her nest in the ground, often preferring a partially concealed site with bare soil such as under a plant leaf. As she excavates the nest, she loosens soil with her mandibles and forelegs, then pushes the soil up the burrow with the end of her abdomen<\/em>.\u201d The tunnel contains several cells.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Holm continues, \u201cShe leaves the nest entrance open while searching for prey but while in the nest at night to rest, she closes the entrance with soil. She searches for predatory stink bug nymphs in vegetation and likely uses olfactory senses in addition to sight to find her prey. After capturing and stinging her prey<\/a>, she grasps the prey by the antennae, then clutches it with her legs beneath her as she flies close to the ground back to her nest. She either enters the nest clutching her prey or she places it on the ground next to the entrance. If the latter, she enters the nest, emerges headfirst, then drags the prey down the burrow, clasping it with her mandibles.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEach cell is provisioned with approximately two to four stink bugs. She temporarily stores the stink bugs at the bottom of the burrow until enough are collected to fully provision the cell. She lays one egg on the first bug cached in the cell.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ground-nesting wasps and bees have elaborate behaviors that help them relocate their nests. Holm says, \u201cWhen she is ready to leave the nest, her orientation first begins on the ground as she walks, making several passes over the nest before taking flight. Then, she flies in circling arcs over the nest. When she returns to the nesting area, she lands on the ground with her prey, then walks around for a while, repeating a similar on-the-ground orientation to the one performed before departing the nest.<\/em>\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This unobtrusive wasp is attracting some attention these days because it has discovered the invasive Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB). In a study in Oregon, 64% of the observed prey taken by the MSBHW were BMSBs, and a few other stink bugs it eats are considered crop pests. Of course, solitary wasps are, well, solitary; you can\u2019t just set up a hive and sic them on unwanted species, so they do their biological control on a small scale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The BugLady<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

stink bug<\/a>, <\/span>Wasps<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Note: All links leave to external sites. Howdy, BugFans, Another wasp with a dynamite name!  When the BugLady found this wasp, she was struck by its curious appearance \u2013 fly-like eyes, waspy antennae, \u201cbroad-shouldered,\u201d but with a very short abdomen …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32664,"featured_media":14387,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[8],"tags":[707,91],"class_list":["post-14386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bug-of-the-week","tag-stink-bug","tag-wasps"],"yoast_head":"\nField Station<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/bug-of-the-week\/monochromatic-stink-bug-hunting-wasp\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Monochromatic Stink Bug-Hunting Wasp\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Note: All links leave to external sites. 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