bullema's Favorites

Caught in a colour pantrap, 19.v.2011, vineyard, Castellet i la Gornal, Barcelona.
Body length: 2,35 mm

Determination attempt with Bouček 2001, Bitsch et al 2007, Bitsch et al 2022.

HEAD: Head laterally narrow. Face shape obovoid, truncate below. Clypeus brown, with an acute medial tooth, extending beyond the base of the labrum. Labrum testaceous, bifurcated in two rectangular lamellae. Mandibles yellowish, two-toothed at the apex, without an additional larger tooth on upper edge.
The distance between the lower edges of the eyes is much smaller than the distance between the upper edges.
Distance between antennal insertions longer than the distance between them and the eyes.
Antenna 12-segmented; antennal flagellum segments short, subquadrate (except the last), the first two together longer than the pedicel.
Upper frons shiny, without median furrow nor a transverse bulge, with very sparse small punctures in front of ocelli.
Diagonal upper end of eye orbit deepened, forming a groove-like fovea.
Head with an occipital carina interrupted dorsally.
Underside of head outside of oral fossa either flat or convex, without pair of concavities.
MESOSOMA: Pronotal collar not distinctly carinate, its sides converging and with rounded shoulders.
WING: Marginall cell at apex completely closed at a sharp angle, enclosing vein even anteriorly well pigmented. Pterostigma unicolorous, broadly paler along middle but darker on its longitudinal margins.
METASOMA: Pygidial area well developed.

Looks like a Sapygid wasp although not identical to other images of sapygid wasps on BugGuide. Though, appears most similar to Krombeinopyga pumila? Also interesting that this wasp was found in a garden with a variety of leaf-cutters and is known to target leaf-cutter bees.

Looks like an interesting species under reported in this area. Wonder if @susanna_h or @johnascher can help out with ID?

A single individual female, observed along the southern part of the reserve in an area commonly frequented by crickets during monsoon.

More details: https://www.sahyadrica.com/2019/02/insects-on-my-mind.html

Amazing small chimney on the compacted ground just off the centre of a path in this amazing (seemingly poorly protected by all the building work going on and digger tracks) bit of pine wood pasture meadow. I've only seen the vertical mud chimney nest entrances of odynerus spinipes before (in the UK)