A nesting population of Tachysphex pechumani is recorded from near Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Porter County, Indiana. This record is a western extension of the known range of this uncommon species. Nesting biology of T. pechumani at this locality was similar to previously published observations on this species

Kurczewski, Frank E

English

Valparaiso University

The Great Lakes Entomologist Volume 33 Number 1 - Spring 2000 Number 1 - Spring 2000 Article 8 April 2000 First Record of Tachysphex Pechumani (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) From Indiana Frank E. Kurczewski State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle Part of the Entomology Commons Recommended Citation Kurczewski, Frank E. 2000. "First Record of Tachysphex Pechumani (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) From Indiana," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 33 (1) Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol33/iss1/8 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. -----------------------------~~-~~~~--------------2000 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 41 FIRST RECORD OF TACHYSPHEX PECHUMANf (HYMENOPTERA: SPHECIDAE) FROM INDIANA Frank E. Kurczewski ABSTRACT A nesting population f Tachysphex pechumani is recorded from near In­diana Dunes National Lakeshore, Porter County, Indiana. This record is a wester extension of the known range of this uncommon species. Nesting bi­ology of T. pechumani at this locality was similar to previously published ob­servations on this species. Tachysphex pechumani Krombein is unusual from the standpoint of adult morphology, nesting behavior, ecology, and s asonal and geographic distribution (Kurczewski 1987, Kurczewski and Elliott 1978, Kurczewski et a1. 1970). It has a disjunct range in sections of the Lower Peninsula of Michi­gan, extreme northwestern Indiana, extreme northwestern Ohio, southwest­ern Ontario, and the New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve (Fig. 1). This species was previously unknown from Indiana (Pulawski 1988, M. F. O'Brien 1994 pers. comm., R. Grundel1999 pers. comm.). Tachysphex pechumani is an excellent i dicator of ancestral oak savanna (Kurczewski 2000). Northwestern Indiana was considered to be prime area for this species at the time of Euro-American settlement because of the abun­dance of oak savanna, extent of appropriate sandy historical climate, and likelihood of periodic fires (Kurczew ki 1998). A population f T. pechumani was located in the Township of Pine, Porter County, Indiana, n 21 June 1999 (Fig. 1). The site was on private property, just south of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore but north ofU. S. Route 20. It consisted of exposed barrens, oak savanna, and oak-deciduous wood­land situated on Oakville fine sand. Tachysphex pechumani nests in Oakville fine sand in the Oak Openings Preserve Metropark, Lucas County, Ohio and the Allegan State Game Area, Allegan County, Michigan (F. E. Kurczewski pers. obs.). In Indiana the wasps nested in sandy openings in oak savanna at the edge of oak-deciduous woodland. Two aggregations of wasps were separated by 91 m. A NE compacted by deer repose, contained two females. Their nest entrances were 24 cm apart. A SW site, compacted by occasional off-road vehicular use, held five fe­males and 16 nests. Nests at the SW site were segregated into five clusters (probably one for each wasp) of 2,3, 3,4, and 4 nests. Individual wasps tend to excavate consecutive burrows close together in clusters (F. E. Kurczewski pers. obs.). Distances between the five clu ers ranged from 78 cm to 5.7 m. Distances between entrances within a cluster averaged 14.4 cm (Range = 3-32 cm, N = 12). 1 Environmental and Forest Biology, State University of New York College of Envi­ronmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, New York 13210-2778. 1Kurczewski: First Record of Tachysphex Pechumani (Hymenoptera: SphecidPublished by ValpoScholar, 200042 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 33, No.1 <] • • •• • IN • • OH Figure 1. Present-day (1991-1999) geographic distribution of Tachysphex pechumani. Indiana record is shown by open arrow point. Sizes of closed cir­cles reflect abundance and extent of subpopulations. Individual localities can be obtained by writing author. Two entrances at the SW site were 8 and 7 mm in diameter. Tailings from five wasp burrow excavations, one from each cluster at this site, aver­aged 80.0 mm (Range =65-90 mm) long and 60.0 mm (Range =55-70 mm) wide. The five burrows averaged 53.4 mm (Range = 44-62 mm) long, includ­ing cell length, and 31.6 rom (Range 26-38 mm) deep, including cell depth (Fig. 2). The five cells averaged 16.0 mm long (Range = 15-17 mm), 6.0 mm high (Range::: 6 mm), and 6.5 rom wide (Range = 6-7 mm). Each of the five cells contained a single, paralyzed prey grasshopper placed head inward and ventral side upward. Each grasshopper bore a slightly curved, sausage-shaped wasp egg, 2.0-2.5 mm long, affixed by the distal end to the soft in ersegmental membrane (corium) surrounding the base of a procoxa, the egg lying transversely across the prey behind the front legs. Three such eggs were affixed to the left and two were attached to the right forecoxal coria. The grasshoppers were identified as late instar, nymphal Melanoplus spp. (Acrididae). They weighed (wet) 111 to 178 mg (Mean::: 128.8 mg, N ::: 5). One female, collected as a voucher specimen and 2The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 33, No. 1 [2000], Art. 8https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol33/iss1/8= = 2000 43THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 50mm Figure 2. Burrow and cell design of Tachysphex pechumani nest, as seen from side. Burrow excavation tailings are stippled. deposited at Cornell University, weighed (wet) 33 mg. T o cellsin one SW cluster contained small red ants [Acanthomyops claviger (Roger)] in the process of amputating and carrying off pieces ofthe prey. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Ralph Grundel provided me with maps of the area, searched unsuccess­fully for T. pechumani in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore insect col­lection. directed me to the location of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Malaise trap samples (which did not contain the wasp), and read a first draft of the manuscr pt. Mark O'Brien gave me information on his collecting ef­forts in the Indiana Dunes. LITERATURE CITED Kurczewski, F. E. 1987. A review of nesting behavior in t e Tachysphex pompiliformis group, with observations on five species (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae). J. Kansas Ento­mol. Soc. 60: 118-126. Kurczewski, F. E. 1998. Distribution, status, evaluation, and recommendations for the protection of Tachysphex pechumani Krombein, the antennal-waving wasp. Nat. Areas J. 18: 242-254. Kurczewski, F. E. 2000. History of White Pine (Pinus strobus)/oak (Quercus spp.) a­vanna in southern Ontario, with particular reference to the biogeography and status of the Antenna-waving Wasp, Tachysphex pechumani (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae). Can.-Field Nat. 114: 1-20. Kurczewski, F. E. and N. B. Elliott. 1978. Nesting behavior and ecology of Tachysphex pechumani Krombein (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae). J. Kansas Entomol. Soc. 51: 765-780. Kurczewski, F. E., N. B. Elliott, and C. E. Vasey. 1970. A redescription of the female and description of the male of Tachysphex pechumani (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae, Larrinae). Ann. Entomo!. Soc. Amer. 63: 1594-1597. Pulawski, W. J. 1988. Revision of North American Tachysphex wasps including Central American and Caribbean species (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae). Mem. Calif. Acad. Sci. 10: 1-211. 3Kurczewski: First Record of Tachysphex Pechumani (Hymenoptera: SphecidPublished by ValpoScholar, 2000

First Record of \u3ci\u3eTachysphex Pechumani\u3c/i\u3e (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) From Indiana

ValpoScholar

The Great Lakes Entomologist 
Volume 33 
Number 1 - Spring 2000 Number 1 - Spring 2000 Article 8 
April 2000 
First Record of Tachysphex Pechumani (Hymenoptera: 
Sphecidae) From Indiana 
Frank E. Kurczewski 
State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle 
 Part of the Entomology Commons 
Recommended Citation 
Kurczewski, Frank E. 2000. "First Record of Tachysphex Pechumani (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) From 
Indiana," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 33 (1) 
Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol33/iss1/8 
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. 
-----------------------------~~-~~~~--------------
2000 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 41 
FIRST RECORD OF TACHYSPHEX PECHUMANf 
(HYMENOPTERA: SPHECIDAE) FROM INDIANA 
Frank E. Kurczewski 
ABSTRACT 
A nesting population f Tachysphex pechumani is recorded from near In­
diana Dunes National Lakeshore, Porter 
County, 
Indiana. This record is a 
wester 
extension of 
the known range of this uncommon species. Nesting bi­
ology of T. pechumani at this locality was similar to previously published ob­
servations 
on 
this species. 
Tachysphex pechumani Krombein is unusual 
from 
the standpoint of 
adult 
morphology, 
nesting behavior, ecology, and s asonal and geographic 
distribution 
(Kurczewski 1987, Kurczewski 
and Elliott 1978, Kurczewski et 
a1. 
1970). 
It has a disjunct range in sections of the Lower Peninsula of Michi­
gan, extreme northwestern Indiana, extreme northwestern 
Ohio, southwest­ern 
Ontario, 
and the New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve (Fig. 1). This 
species was previously unknown from Indiana (Pulawski 1988, M. F. O'Brien 
1994 pers. comm., R. Grundel1999 pers. comm.). 
Tachysphex pechumani is an excellent i dicator of ancestral oak savanna 
(Kurczewski 2000). Northwestern Indiana was considered to be prime area 
for this species at the time of Euro-American settlement because of the abun­
dance of oak savanna, extent of appropriate sandy 
historical climate, and 
likelihood 
of periodic fires (Kurczew ki 1998). 
A population f T. pechumani was located in the Township of Pine, Porter 
County, Indiana, n 21 June 1999 (Fig. 1). The site was on private property, 
just south of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore but north ofU. 
S. Route 
20. 
It consisted of exposed barrens, oak savanna, and oak-deciduous wood­
land situated 
on Oakville fine 
sand. Tachysphex pechumani nests in Oakville 
fine sand in the Oak Openings Preserve Metropark, Lucas County, Ohio and 
the 
Allegan 
State Game Area, Allegan County, Michigan (F. E. Kurczewski 
pers. obs.). In Indiana the wasps nested in sandy openings in oak savanna at 
the 
edge 
of oak-deciduous woodland. 
Two aggregations of wasps were separated by 91 m. A NE compacted 
by deer repose, contained two 
females. 
Their nest entrances were 24 cm 
apart. 
A SW site, compacted by occasional off-road 
vehicular use, held five fe­
males and 
16 nests. 
Nests at the SW site were segregated into five clusters 
(probably one for each wasp) of 2,3, 3,4, and 4 nests. Individual wasps tend 
to excavate consecutive burrows close together in clusters (F. E. Kurczewski 
pers. obs.). Distances between the five clu ers ranged from 78 cm to 5.7 m. 
Distances between entrances within 
a 
cluster averaged 14.4 cm (Range = 
3-32 cm, N = 12). 
1 Environmental and Forest Biology, State University of New York College of Envi­
ronmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, New York 13210-2778. 
1
Kurczewski: First Record of Tachysphex Pechumani (Hymenoptera: Sphecid
Published by ValpoScholar, 2000
42 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 33, No.1 
<] 
• 
• •
• 
• 
IN 
• • 
OH 
Figure 1. Present-day (1991-1999) geographic distribution of Tachysphex 
pechumani. Indiana record is shown by open arrow point. Sizes of closed cir­
cles reflect abundance and extent of subpopulations. Individual localities can 
be 
obtained 
by writing author. 
Two entrances at the SW site were 8 and 7 mm in diameter. Tailings 
from five wasp burrow excavations, one from each cluster at this site, aver­
aged 80.0 mm (Range =65-90 mm) long and 60.0 mm (Range =55-70 mm) 
wide. The five burrows averaged 53.4 mm (Range = 44-62 mm) long, includ­
ing 
cell length, 
and 31.6 rom (Range 26-38 mm) deep, including cell depth 
(Fig. 2). The five cells averaged 16.0 mm long (Range = 15-17 mm), 6.0 mm 
high 
(Range::: 6 mm), 
and 6.5 rom wide (Range = 6-7 mm). 
Each of the 
five cells 
contained a single, paralyzed prey grasshopper 
placed head inward and ventral side upward. Each grasshopper bore 
a slightly 
curved, 
sausage-shaped wasp egg, 2.0-2.5 mm long, affixed by the 
distal end 
to 
the soft in ersegmental membrane (corium) surrounding the 
base of 
a procoxa, 
the egg lying transversely across the prey behind the front 
legs. Three such eggs were affixed to the left and two were attached to the 
right 
forecoxal coria. 
The grasshoppers were identified as late instar, 
nymphal Melanoplus spp. (Acrididae). They weighed (wet) 111 to 178 mg 
(Mean::: 128.8 mg, N ::: 5). One female, collected as a voucher specimen and 
2
The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 33, No. 1 [2000], Art. 8
https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol33/iss1/8
= 
= 
2000 43THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 
50mm 

Figure 2. Burrow and cell design of Tachysphex pechumani nest, as seen 
from side. Burrow excavation tailings are stippled. 
deposited at Cornell University, weighed (wet) 33 mg. T o cellsin one SW 
cluster contained small red ants [Acanthomyops claviger (Roger)] in the 
process of amputating and carrying off pieces ofthe prey. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
Ralph Grundel 
provided me 
with maps of the area, searched unsuccess­
fully for T. pechumani in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore insect col­
lection. directed me to the location of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore 
Malaise trap samples 
(which did 
not contain the wasp), and read a first draft 
of the manuscr pt. Mark O'Brien gave me information 
on 
his collecting ef­
forts in the Indiana Dunes. 
LITERATURE CITED 
Kurczewski, F. E. 1987. A review of nesting behavior in t e Tachysphex pompiliformis 
group, with observations on five species (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae). J. Kansas Ento­
mol. Soc. 60: 118-126. 
Kurczewski, F. E. 1998. Distribution, status, evaluation, and recommendations for the 
protection of Tachysphex pechumani Krombein, the antennal-waving wasp. Nat. 
Areas J. 
18: 
242-254. 
Kurczewski, F. E. 2000. History of White Pine (Pinus strobus)/oak (Quercus spp.) a­
vanna in southern 
Ontario, 
with particular reference to the biogeography and status 
of the Antenna-waving 
Wasp, 
Tachysphex pechumani (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae). 
Can.-Field Nat. 114: 1-20. 
Kurczewski, F. E. and N. B. Elliott. 1978. Nesting behavior and ecology of Tachysphex 
pechumani Krombein (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae). J. Kansas Entomol. Soc. 51: 
765-780. 
Kurczewski, F. E., N. B. Elliott, and C. E. Vasey. 1970. A redescription of the female 
and description of the male of 
Tachysphex 
pechumani (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae, 
Larrinae). 
Ann. Entomo!. Soc. Amer. 63: 1594-1597. Pulawski, W. J. 
1988. Revision 
of North American Tachysphex wasps including Central 
American and Caribbean 
species (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae). Mem. Calif. Acad. Sci. 10: 
1-211. 
3
Kurczewski: First Record of Tachysphex Pechumani (Hymenoptera: Sphecid
Published by ValpoScholar, 2000

https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2007&amp;context=tgle

First Record of \u3ci\u3eTachysphex Pechumani\u3c/i\u3e (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) From Indiana

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