Dipogon subintermedius

Dipogon subintermedius
	female
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Pompilidae
Genus:	Dipogon
Species:	D. subintermedius
Binomial name
	Dipogon subintermedius; Magretti 1886
Synonyms
	Deuteragenia nitida

Dipogon subintermedius is a spider wasp from the family Pompilidae.

Identification

Like D. bifasciatus, this is an all-black species with bifasciated wings, but the female has shorter antennae than D. bifasciatus.[1]

Distribution and habitat

Found from southern Great Britain north, it has an isolated population in the central Scottish Highlands, although the species has not been recorded in Ireland, through central and eastern Europe east to Mongolia.[1] It is the most common of the three species of Dipogon found in Britain.[2]

It prefers woodland and hedgerows where dead wood is present to provide breeding sites.[1]

Biology

In Britain, this wasp flies from June to September. The only recorded prey in Britain is a species of spider Segestria senoculata from the family Segestriidae, but elsewhere, spiders of the genus Clubiona (Clubionidae) have been recorded as prey.[3] The spider is carried to the wasp's nest by its spinnerets, and prey is then malaxated, which may be a process by which the wasp obtains proteins necessary to produce eggs; certainly, wasps of the genus Dipogon do not appear to visit flowers to obtain nectar.

The nest is usually constructed in an existing cavity, normally in wood, and old beetle excavations are often used, although cavities in masonry will also be used. The cavity is normally sealed with spider silk, applied using the maxillary bristles which give the generic name to these wasps.[1] Records exist of two larvae of D. subintermedius on a single specimen of S. senoculata.[4]

References

http://www.natureconservationimaging.com/Pages/nature_conservation_imaging_woodland_hedgerow_spiders.htm
http://www.bembix.de/gallery/pompilidae-htm/Dipogon_subintermedius_1.htm
Shaw, Mark R (1997) Two Dipogon subintermedius (Magretti) (Hym.: Pompilidae) apparently developing on a single spider. Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation, 109. p. 244.

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[2] ttp://www.natureconservationimaging.com/Pages/nature_conservation_imaging_woodland_hedgerow_spiders.htm

[3] ttp://www.bembix.de/gallery/pompilidae-htm/Dipogon_subintermedius_1.htm

[4] Shaw, Mark R (1997) Two Dipogon subintermedius (Magretti) (Hym.: Pompilidae) apparently developing on a single spider. Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation, 109. p. 244.