The ranges of 10 Nearctic species of Sphecidae, Spilomena pusilla, Tachytes parvus, Solierella plenoculoides, Pison agile, Entomognathus lenapeorum, Rhopalum clavipes, Crabro hilaris, C. tenuis, Alysson conicus and Lestiphorus cockerelli, are extended in the northeastern U.S. based upon collections made in Pennsylvania and New York. The first prey record for a North American species of Lestiphorus, cockerelli, is included

Kurczewski, Frank E

Miller, Richard C

English

Valparaiso University

The Great Lakes Entomologist Volume 24 Number 4 - Winter 1991 Number 4 - Winter 1991 Article 6 December 1991 Range Extensions for Species of Sphecidae (Hymenoptera) in the Northeastern United States Frank E. Kurczewski State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry Richard C. Miller Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle  Part of the Entomology Commons Recommended Citation Kurczewski, Frank E. and Miller, Richard C. 1991. "Range Extensions for Species of Sphecidae (Hymenoptera) in the Northeastern United States," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 24 (4) Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol24/iss4/6 This Peer-Review Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. 1991 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 253 RANGE EXTENSIONS FOR SPECIES OF SPHECIDAE (HYMENOPTERA) IN THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES Frank E. Kurczewski' and Richard C. Miller2 ABSTRACT The ranges of 10 Nearctic species of Sphecidae, Spilomena pusilla, Tachytes parvus, Solierella plenoculoides, Pison agile, Entomognathus lenapeorum, Rhopa­fum clavipes, Crabro hilaris, C. tenuis, Alysson conicus and Lestiphorus cockereffi, are extended in the northeastern U.S. based upon collections made in Pennsylvania and New York. The first prey record for a North American species of Lestiphorus, cockerelfi, is included. The family Sphecidae contains a vast array of genera and species that, collec­tively, are exceedingly diverse morphologically, ecologically and behaviorally (Evans 1963, 1966, Krombein 1979). The majority of the species nest in soil but certain taxa inhabit living or dead plant materiaL A few genera, such as Sceliphron, are mud­daubers. Species of Sphecidae prey upon a tremendous variety of terrestrial insects and spiders, with host specificity ranging from absolute species-specificity to captur­ing several orders of insects. Some sphecids are large, showy and highly noticeable, even to a layman's eye, while others are small, obscure and rarely seen. It is the latter group of digger wasps to which we address this paper. Krombein (1979) has given the known distributions for all of the described species of Sphecidae in the United States north of Mexico. Despite these extensive records, gaps still remain in the distribution maps of some of the species. These gaps are related to the lack of intensive collecting in certain parts of the U.S. The collecting and host records which we present herein extend the species' distributions in the northeastern U.S. and fill in gaps in the knowledge of the biology of the Nearctic Sphecidae, respectively. The species of Sphecidae are listed in phylogenetic order following Krombein (1979); however, his families are relegated to sub familial status except for Trypoxy­loninae. The sexes, number of specimens, locality and date(s) of collection and collector(s) are given for each species. The authors of the paper are abbreviated F.RK. and R.C.M., respectively, where they represent the collector(s). All speci­mens were identified by the authors, unless indicated otherwise. Subfamily PEMPHREDONINAE Spifomena pusi/la (Say). 1)'. New York, Cayuga County, Auburn; 23 July 1 %9; F.E.K. and R.C.M. 'Environmental and Forest Biology, State University of New York College of Environ­ment~1 Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY 13210-2778. Address unknown. 1Kurczewski and Miller: Range Extensions for Species of Sphecidae (Hymenoptera) in the NoPublished by ValpoScholar, 1991254 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 24, No.4 Subfamily LARRINAE Tachytes parvus Fox. 29 '? New York, Albany County, Pinebush; 10 June-14 July 1983; J.C. Allen, T. McCabe. Solierella plenoculoides (Fox). 1 . New York, Cayuga County, Auburn; 9 August 1968; F.E.K. Subfamily TRYPOXYLONINAE Pison agile (Smith). 3 \' . Pennsylvania, Erie County, Presque Isle State Park; 25 July 1966; Erie; 19 July 1967, 24 July 1985; E.J. Kurczewski. Recently, Menke (1989) reported a considerable range extension for P. agile­southwest to Austin, Texas. Subfamily CRABRONINAE Entomognathus lenapeorum Viereck. 10. Pennsylvania, Erie County, Erie; 9 September 1966; E.J. Kurczewski. Rhopalum ciavipes (Linnaeus). 10. New York, Madison County, Chittenango; 8 June 1974; R.C.M. Crabro hilaris Smith. 400. New York, Suffolk County, Fire Island State Park, Sailor's Haven; 10 August 1972; R.C.M. and c.J. Lane. Crabro tenuis Fox. 3 \,!j!, 700. Pennsylvania, Erie County, Presque Isle State Park; 28 May 1971; E.J. Kurczewski. New York, Oswego County, Selkirk Shores State Park; 10-16 June 1971, 13-14 June 1972; Madison County; Chittenango; 6 June 1972; F.E.K. and R.C.M. Subfamily NYSSONINAE Alysson conicus Provancher [det. M. F. O'Brien 1979]. 1 \'. Pennsylvania, Erie County, Erie; 16 July 1966; E.J. Kurczewski. Lestiphorus cockerel/i (Rohwer). 11 \' ". Pennsylvania, Erie County, Erie; 9 August-1O September 966, 7 August-5 September 1971, 4 August 1972, 30 July 1973,4-25 August 1979; Presque Isle State Park, 17 August 1971; E.J. Kurczewski. These collection dates suggest that this species flies only during mid - to late summer and is probably univoltine in the northeastern U.S. One female is pinned with an adult Acanalonia bivittata (Say) (Homoptera: Acanaloniidae) (det. A. Wheeler 1980). This is the first host record for this genus in North America. One Palaearctic species, 1. bicinctus (Rossi), provisions its nests with spittlebugs (Bernard 1934). LITERATURE CITED Bernard, F. 1934. Observations sur les proies de quelques Hymenopteres. Bull. Soc. Entomol. France 39: 247-250. Evans, H. E. 1963. Predatory wasps. Sci. Amer. 208: 145-154. Evans, H. E. 1966. The behavior patterns of solitary wasps. Ann. Rev. Entomol. 11: 123-154. Krombein, K. V. 1979. Superfamily Sphecoidea, pp. 1573-1740. In: Krombein, K. V., P. D. Hurd, Jr., D. R. Smith, and B. D. Burks. Catalog of Hymenoptera in America North ofMexico. Vol. 2, Apocrita (Aculeata). Smithsonian Inst. Press, Washington, D.C. Menke, A. S. 1989. New distribution records for Pis n (Sphecidae). Sphecos 18: 12-13. 2The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 24, No. 4 [1991], Art. 6https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol24/iss4/6

Range Extensions for Species of Sphecidae (Hymenoptera) in the Northeastern United States

ValpoScholar

The Great Lakes Entomologist 
Volume 24 
Number 4 - Winter 1991 Number 4 - Winter 
1991 
Article 6 
December 1991 
Range Extensions for Species of Sphecidae (Hymenoptera) in the 
Northeastern United States 
Frank E. Kurczewski 
State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry 
Richard C. Miller 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle 
 Part of the Entomology Commons 
Recommended Citation 
Kurczewski, Frank E. and Miller, Richard C. 1991. "Range Extensions for Species of Sphecidae 
(Hymenoptera) in the Northeastern United States," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 24 (4) 
Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol24/iss4/6 
This Peer-Review Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. 
It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. 
For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. 
1991 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 253 
RANGE EXTENSIONS FOR SPECIES OF SPHECIDAE 

(HYMENOPTERA) 

IN THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES 

Frank E. Kurczewski' and Richard C. Miller2 
ABSTRACT 
The ranges of 10 Nearctic species of Sphecidae, Spilomena pusilla, Tachytes 
parvus, Solierella plenoculoides, Pison agile, Entomognathus lenapeorum, Rhopa­
fum clavipes, Crabro hilaris, C. tenuis, Alysson conicus and Lestiphorus cockereffi, 
are extended in the northeastern U.S. based upon collections made in Pennsylvania 
and New York. The first prey record for a North American species of Lestiphorus, 
cockerelfi, is included. 
The family Sphecidae contains a vast array of genera and species that, collec­
tively, are exceedingly diverse morphologically, ecologically and behaviorally (Evans 
1963, 1966, Krombein 1979). The majority of the species nest in soil but certain taxa 
inhabit living or dead plant materiaL A few genera, such as Sceliphron, are mud­
daubers. Species of Sphecidae prey upon a tremendous variety of terrestrial insects 
and spiders, with host specificity ranging from absolute species-specificity to captur­
ing several orders of insects. Some sphecids are large, showy and highly noticeable, 
even to a layman's eye, while others are small, obscure and rarely seen. It is the latter 
group of digger wasps to which we address this paper. 
Krombein (1979) has given the known distributions for all of the described 
species of Sphecidae in the United States north of Mexico. Despite these extensive 
records, gaps still remain in the distribution maps of some of the species. These gaps 
are related to the lack of intensive collecting in certain parts of the U.S. The 
collecting and host records which we present herein extend the species' distributions 
in the northeastern U.S. and fill in gaps in the knowledge of the biology of the 
Nearctic Sphecidae, respectively. 
The species of Sphecidae are listed in phylogenetic order following Krombein 
(1979); however, his families are relegated to sub familial status except for Trypoxy­
loninae. The sexes, number of specimens, locality and date(s) of collection and 
collector(s) are given for each species. The authors of the paper are abbreviated 
F.RK. 
and R.C.M., respectively, where they represent the collector(s). All speci­
mens were identified 
by the authors, unless indicated otherwise. 
Subfamily PEMPHREDONINAE 
Spifomena pusi/la (Say). 1)'. New York, Cayuga County, Auburn; 23 July 1 %9; 
F.E.K. and R.C.M. 
'Environmental and Forest Biology, State University of New York College of Environ­
ment~1 
Science and Forestry, Syracuse, 
NY 13210-2778. 
Address unknown. 
1
Kurczewski and Miller: Range Extensions for Species of Sphecidae (Hymenoptera) in the No
Published by ValpoScholar, 1991
254 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 24, No.4 
Subfamily LARRINAE 
Tachytes parvus Fox. 29 '? New York, Albany County, Pinebush; 10 June-14 
July 1983; J.C. Allen, T. McCabe. 
Solierella plenoculoides (Fox). 1 . New York, Cayuga County, Auburn; 9 
August 1968; F.E.K. 
Subfamily TRYPOXYLONINAE 
Pison agile (Smith). 3 \' . Pennsylvania, Erie County, Presque Isle State Park; 
25 
July 
1966; Erie; 19 July 1967, 24 July 1985; E.J. Kurczewski. 
Recently, Menke (1989) reported a considerable range extension for P. agile­
southwest to Austin, Texas. 
Subfamily CRABRONINAE 
Entomognathus lenapeorum Viereck. 10. Pennsylvania, Erie County, Erie; 9 
September 1966; E.J. Kurczewski. 
Rhopalum ciavipes (Linnaeus). 10. New York, Madison County, Chittenango; 
8 June 1974; R.C.M. 
Crabro hilaris Smith. 400. New York, Suffolk County, Fire Island State Park, 
Sailor's Haven; 10 August 1972; R.C.M. and c.J. Lane. 
Crabro tenuis Fox. 3 \,!j!, 700. Pennsylvania, Erie County, Presque Isle State 
Park; 28 May 1971; E.J. Kurczewski. New York, Oswego County, Selkirk Shores 
State Park; 10-16 June 1971, 13-14 June 1972; Madison County; Chittenango; 6 
June 1972; F.E.K. and R.C.M. 
Subfamily NYSSONINAE 
Alysson conicus Provancher [det. M. F. O'Brien 1979]. 1 \'. Pennsylvania, Erie 
County, Erie; 16 July 1966; E.J. Kurczewski. 
Lestiphorus cockerel/i (Rohwer). 11 \' ". Pennsylvania, Erie County, Erie; 9 
August-1O September 966, 7 August-5 September 1971, 4 August 1972, 30 July 
1973,4-25 August 1979; Presque Isle State Park, 17 August 1971; E.J. Kurczewski. 
These collection dates suggest that this species flies only during mid - to late 
summer and is probably univoltine in the northeastern U.S. 
One female is pinned with an adult Acanalonia bivittata (Say) (Homoptera: 
Acanaloniidae) (det. A. Wheeler 1980). This is the first host record for this genus in 
North America. One Palaearctic species, 1. bicinctus (Rossi), provisions its nests 
with spittlebugs (Bernard 1934). 
LITERATURE CITED 
Bernard, F. 1934. Observations sur les proies de quelques Hymenopteres. Bull. Soc. Entomol. 
France 39: 247-250. 
Evans, H. E. 1963. Predatory wasps. Sci. Amer. 208: 145-154. 
Evans, H. E. 1966. The behavior patterns of solitary wasps. Ann. Rev. Entomol. 11: 123-154. 
Krombein, K. V. 1979. Superfamily Sphecoidea, pp. 1573-1740. In: Krombein, K. V., P. D. 
Hurd, Jr., D. R. Smith, and B. D. Burks. Catalog of Hymenoptera in America North of
Mexico. Vol. 2, Apocrita (Aculeata). Smithsonian Inst. Press, Washington, D.C. 
Menke, A. S. 1989. New distribution records for Pis n (Sphecidae). Sphecos 18: 12-13. 
2
The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 24, No. 4 [1991], Art. 6
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Range Extensions for Species of Sphecidae (Hymenoptera) in the Northeastern United States

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