Monobia quadridens
Encyclopedia
Monobia quadridens is a species
of solitary potter wasp
found in North America
. It grows to a wingspan of 18 millimetre (0.708661417322835 in), and feeds on small caterpillar
s and pollen
. There are two generations per year, with one generation overwintering as pupa
e.
of M. quadridens is entirely black, except for a broad ivory-coloured
band on the first tergite. The wingspan
is typically 11–14.5 mm (0.433070866141732–0.570866141732284 ) for males, and 14 millimetre for females. It closely resembles Euodynerus bidens in size and colouration.
. In Mexico
, it is found in the states of Tamaulipas
and Nuevo León
, while in the United States
, it is found from New Mexico
, Kansas
and Wisconsin
east to the Eastern Seaboard
. The occurrence of the species in Canada
has not been explicitly recorded in print, but specimens identified as M. quadridens have been present in Canadian entomological collections for a long time.
, having two generations in a year. One emerges in summer, while the other overwinters as a pupa
before emerging the following spring. Copulation
lasts for 30 minutes in M. quadridens, while in most wasp species, it only lasts a minute or two. It nests in a variety of cavities including tunnels abandoned by carpenter bee
s, old mud dauber
nests and hollow plant stems.
The diet of M. quadridens is primarily composed of caterpillar
s of microlepidoptera
, including species from the families Pyralidae
, Crambidae
, Elachistidae
, Amphisbatidae, Gelechiidae
and Tortricidae
. The diet also includes a large proportion of pollen
.
or the ant
Myrmecia nigripes. Unlike most other wasps, however, the male is also capable of delivering a painful sting like a needle prick, although no venom
is injected, so the pain is transient. The male has no stinger
and uses the tip of its abdomen.
, under the name Vespa quadridens.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of solitary potter wasp
Potter wasp
Potter wasps are a cosmopolitan wasp group presently treated as a subfamily of Vespidae, but sometimes recognized in the past as a separate family, Eumenidae.-Recognition:...
found in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. It grows to a wingspan of 18 millimetre (0.708661417322835 in), and feeds on small caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
s and pollen
Pollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
. There are two generations per year, with one generation overwintering as pupa
Pupa
A pupa is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation. The pupal stage is found only in holometabolous insects, those that undergo a complete metamorphosis, going through four life stages; embryo, larva, pupa and imago...
e.
Description
The abdomenAbdomen
In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
of M. quadridens is entirely black, except for a broad ivory-coloured
Ivory (color)
Ivory is an off-white color that resembles ivory, the material out of which the teeth and tusks of animals is made. It has a very slight tint of yellow....
band on the first tergite. The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is typically 11–14.5 mm (0.433070866141732–0.570866141732284 ) for males, and 14 millimetre for females. It closely resembles Euodynerus bidens in size and colouration.
Distribution
Monobia quadridens has a wide distribution in eastern North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. In Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, it is found in the states of Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the...
and Nuevo León
Nuevo León
Nuevo León It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S...
, while in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, it is found from New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
and Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
east to the Eastern Seaboard
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
. The occurrence of the species in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
has not been explicitly recorded in print, but specimens identified as M. quadridens have been present in Canadian entomological collections for a long time.
Life cycle and ecology
Monobia quadridens is bivoltineVoltinism
Voltinism is a term used in biology to indicate the number of broods or generations of an organism in a year. The term is particularly in use in sericulture, where silkworm varieties vary in their voltinism....
, having two generations in a year. One emerges in summer, while the other overwinters as a pupa
Pupa
A pupa is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation. The pupal stage is found only in holometabolous insects, those that undergo a complete metamorphosis, going through four life stages; embryo, larva, pupa and imago...
before emerging the following spring. Copulation
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
lasts for 30 minutes in M. quadridens, while in most wasp species, it only lasts a minute or two. It nests in a variety of cavities including tunnels abandoned by carpenter bee
Carpenter bee
Carpenter bees are large, hairy bees distributed worldwide. There are some 500 species of carpenter bee in 31 subgenera...
s, old mud dauber
Mud dauber
Mud dauber is a name commonly applied to a number of wasps from either the family Sphecidae or Crabronidae that build their nests from mud...
nests and hollow plant stems.
The diet of M. quadridens is primarily composed of caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
s of microlepidoptera
Microlepidoptera
Microlepidoptera is an artificial grouping of moth families, commonly known as the 'smaller moths' . These generally have a wingspan of under 20 mm, and are thus harder to identify by external phenotypic markings than macrolepidoptera...
, including species from the families Pyralidae
Pyralidae
The Pyralidae or snout moths are a family of Lepidoptera in the ditrysian superfamily Pyraloidea. In many classifications, the grass moths are included in the Pyralidae as a subfamily, making the combined group one of the largest families in the Lepidoptera...
, Crambidae
Crambidae
The Crambidae are the grass moth family of Lepidoptera . They are quite variable in appearance, the nominal subfamily Crambinae taking up closely folded postures on grass-stems where they are inconspicuous, while other subfamilies include brightly coloured and patterned insects which rest in...
, Elachistidae
Elachistidae
| image = Elachista rufocinerea 2.jpg| image_width = 240px| image_caption = Adult Elachista rufocinerea,demonstrating its tiny size versus an aphid and a spider mite | regnum = Animalia| phylum = Arthropoda| classis = Insecta...
, Amphisbatidae, Gelechiidae
Gelechiidae
Gelechiidae is a family of moths commonly referred to as twirler moths or gelechiid moths. They are the namesake family of the huge and little-studied superfamily Gelechioidea, and the Gelechiidae's relationships with and delimitation against their relatives have been subject to considerable...
and Tortricidae
Tortricidae
Tortricidae is a family of moths, commonly known as tortrix moths, in the order Lepidoptera. Tortricidae is a large family with over 9,400 species described, and is the sole member of the superfamily Tortricoidea. Many of these are economically important pests. Olethreutidae is a junior synonym...
. The diet also includes a large proportion of pollen
Pollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
.
Sting
Like many wasps, Monobia quadridens is capable of delivering a sting. The pain caused by the sting of a female is similar to that caused by the bald-faced hornetBald-faced hornet
Dolichovespula maculata is a North American insect commonly called the bald-faced hornet...
or the ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
Myrmecia nigripes. Unlike most other wasps, however, the male is also capable of delivering a painful sting like a needle prick, although no venom
Venom
Venom is the general term referring to any variety of toxins used by certain types of animals that inject it into their victims by the means of a bite or a sting...
is injected, so the pain is transient. The male has no stinger
Stinger
-Biology:* Stinger, an organ or body part found in various animals that usually delivers some kind of venom.* Stinger , a minor neurological injury suffered by athletes.-Sports and entertainment:...
and uses the tip of its abdomen.
Taxonomy
Monobia quadridens was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1763 work Centuria InsectorumCenturia Insectorum
is a 1763 taxonomic work by Carl Linnaeus, and defended as a thesis by Boas Johansson; which of the two men should be credited with its authorship has been the subject of some controversy. It includes descriptions of 102 new insect and crustacean species that had been sent to Linnaeus from...
, under the name Vespa quadridens.