Nose Bambex - Striped Fighter Flies

Bembeks is one of the genera of sand or digging wasps. It consists of 340 species that live around the world. The main variety of insects is found in the warm regions of Africa and Australia. Nose Bembex is a palearctic species; its representatives live in Europe and Central Asia. Female sand wasps carefully raise offspring in deep burrows. Every day they bring the larvae of flies and other dipterans. Adults feed on nectar.

Morphological description of the species

Nose Bembex (Bembix rostrata) is a large predatory insect from the sand wasp family. The size of the imago is 18-22 m. All parts of the body (head, chest, abdomen) are clearly isolated. The head is free, moving. Large faceted eyes are oval. Between them are simple eyes. Antennae short, filiform. The upper lip (labrum) is extended into a narrow beak and covers the mouth organs of a gnawing type. This characteristic gave the name of the species. The stocky body is black with a yellow striped pattern. The chest and abdomen are connected by a waist in the form of a thin stalk (petiol).

Three pairs of walking limbs are yellow. The front legs have a comb of bristles to help dig a hole. The abdomen of the female ends with a sting. In a calm state, it is drawn inward. The sting is connected to a poisonous gland. Insects have two pairs of transparent smoky wings, hind ones smaller than front ones. Wings are webbed with a rare network of venation. Bembex males are larger than females.

Interesting fact. The nosed bambex is able to quickly turn around its axis. At the same time, he flaps his wings and makes a loud buzz.

Habitat

The Palaearctic species is common in Europe and Asia north of Mongolia. In the European part of the continent, bembex lives in the territory from the Mediterranean to Denmark and Sweden. This type of sand wasp is common in North Africa, Turkey.

Lifestyle

Years of insects are observed in June-August. In one area with sandy soil, dozens of bembexes make holes. They are characterized by sedentary behavior. Wasps arrange nests in one place from year to year. They can be found in desert-steppe areas with loose soil, in rare pine forests, on sandy shores, abandoned settlements. The wasp digs a hole with fast synchronous movements of its forepaws. With the help of stings, it loosens the soil and carries away large clumps of soil.

Males and females have underground shelters. They serve as a place to sleep and shelter from the weather. Adult sand wasps feed on flowers, they are able to suck nectar from long corollas. Females sometimes feed on the contents of the goiter of the killed flies. Females live in the same nest with a growing larva. Natural enemies are German wasps and glossy wasps.

Offspring Care

For the hole, the female chooses an open area, well warmed by the sun. It digs a horizontal hole 15-20 cm long. It ends with a larva cell. Branched nests are sometimes arranged where two larvae are grown. The development of offspring begins with laying an egg on a small fly. The victim is pre-killed, and not paralyzed, like most digging wasps. The female bends the wing of the insect to place the tip of the egg closer to the throat of the fly.

Interesting fact.After digging a mink, a nose bambex flies around it several times to remember the location of the surrounding objects.

Nose bambex is a highly organized insect. Evolutionary development is manifested in unusual care for offspring. Many single wasps leave a one-time supply of food for the larvae in the nest, but representatives of the species Bembix rostrata act differently. During the entire period of development of the offspring, the mother catches and brings fresh flies. Wasp prey: horseflies, creepers, carrion and gray meat flies, flower girls. Bembex grabs them on the flowers, leaves, body of mammals. He quickly dealt with the victim, killing her with a sting in the chest.

During the flight to the nest, the female holds the fly with her middle limbs. Returning from the hunt, she checks the hole, only then brings the prey. The development of the larva takes from 7 to 14 days. As it grows, more food is delivered at a time. The wasp must be caught and brought into the nest of at least 60 dipterans. Each time, flying away to hunt, it tightly seals the entrance to the hole with a sand cork. It is also a concern for the survival of the offspring. The larva pupates in a strong cocoon of sand and silk. For a year, the female manages to feed no more than 6-7 larvae.

Threatening factors

Wasps Bembix rostrata in some habitats are at risk. The area of ​​suitable territories is being reduced, including sandy open soils for nests and islet grasses for feeding adults. The nosy Bembeks is listed in the Red Book of the Moscow Region.