Sceliphron Caementarium Research Articles

Buzz digging and buzz plastering in the black-and-yellow mud dauber wasp, Sceliphron caementarium (Drury)

The black-and-yellow mud dauber digs mud with its mandibles at pond or puddle edges, flies with a mud ball to a locality that is dark and protected from rain, and then immediately begins to form a mud tube for eventual provisioning with paralyzed spiders as food for its single developing larva (only one egg is depositied per tube). Digging and plastering (making a mud tube) are always accompanied by intense vibrations (intense enough to shake one’s hand when holding the wasp with forceps) caused by the wing muscles. Visual and acoustic details of digging and plastering were studied by high speed video (usually 2,000 fps) correlated with acoustical data recorded with laser Doppler vibrometry, microphones, and accelerometers. High definition video was also used to view the general process of digging and plastering, but it is impossible to visualize the vibrations except with high-speed video. The vibration of the wing muscles causes the head to vibrate at the same frequency, which mechanically aids digging and plastering. Pulling and pushing mud with the mandibles while digging are at different frequencies, and plastering is at an even lower frequency. The wasp can modulate the amplitude of these vibrations while digging or plastering.

Description of the Postdefecating Larva of Stilbum cyanura (Förster) and Observations on Adult Behavior

The postdefecating larva (prepupa) of Stilbum cyanura (Förster) is described, illustrated and compared with the mature larvae of other Chrysididae. Analysis of the character states important for clarifying the phylogeny of this family are: (a) all abdominal segments divided/not divided into two annulets; (b) integument (1), atrium (2), opening into subatrium (3), mandibles (4), maxillae (5), maxillary palpi (6), and labium (7) with/without: (1) setae or spines, (2) asperities or weak lines on circumference, (3) spines; (4) setae on base, (5) spinules, (6) five apical sensilla, (7) papillose margin; (c) cranium with five or more/1–4/without pairs of setae; (d) antennal papillae: (1) longer/not longer than broader, (2) with two/three apical sensilla; (e) labrum with/without: (1) anterior edge notched, (2) sensilla, and (f) galeae highly/normally/poorly developed, show that the mature larva of Stilbum is characterized by the autapomorphy: antennal papillae with four apical sensilla. A few observations on a female of S. cyanura on the mud nest of its host, Sceliphron caementarium (Drury) (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) showed that the cuckoo wasp, after an exploration phase to localize a host larva, create a hole in mud with its mouthparts and then insert the abdomen in this hole to oviposit in the host brood cell.

COMPARATIVE DEVELOPMENT AND COMPETITIVE ABILITY OF DIBRACHYS PELOS (HYMENOPTERA: PTEROMALIDAE) ON VARIOUS POTENTIAL HOSTS

Abstract Dibrachys pelos (Grissell) is an occasional gregarious ectoparasitoid of Sceliphron caementarium (Drury). We report the second record of this host association, collected in western Nebraska, and present results of laboratory experiments on host suitability and utilization. When D. pelos was reared alone on prepupae of 6 possible hosts, 4 proved entirely suitable: the mud dauber wasps Sceliphron caementarium and Trypoxylon politum Say, and two of their parasitoids, a velvet ant, Sphaeropthalma pensylvanica (Lepeletier) and a bee fly, Anthraxsp. On these hosts D. pelos completed development in 2-4 weeks, with average clutch sizes of 33-57, of which 24.7% were males. The other two hosts tested, the flesh fly Neobellieria bullata (Parker) and the leaf-cutter bee Megachile rotundata (Say), proved marginal, with very few adult progeny produced. When reared on these same 6 hosts with the addition of a competing parasitoid, Melittobia digitata Dahms, D. pelos fared poorly, being the sole offspring produc...

SILK MEDIATED DEFENSE BY AN ORB WEB SPIDER AGAINST PREDATORY MUD-DAUBER WASPS

AbstractStabilimenta are zigzag and spiral designs of seemingly conspicuous silk included at the centers of many spider webs. We examined the association of stabilimenta with the ability of spiders to defend themselves against predatory mud-dauber wasps. We found that Argiope trifasciata (Araneae, Araneidae) were significantly more likely to survive attacks by Chalybion caeruleum and Sceliphron caementarium (Hymenoptera, Sphecidae) when spiders included stabilimenta in webs. This association could not be explained by factors such as differences in sizes or conditions of spiders nor locations of webs. We suggest that stabilimenta may function to delay pursuit of spiders as they drop from webs by physically blocking wasps, camouflaging spiders or distracting attacking wasps. Stabilimenta may function in a role very similar to the retreats built by many other genera of spiders and appear to be an adaptation to reduce the predation pressure faced by spiders that have evolved foraging habits at highly exposed diurnal web sites.

PREDATORY INTERACTIONS BETWEEN MUD-DAUBER WASPS (HYMENOPTERA, SPHECIDAE) AND ARGIOPE (ARANEAE, ARANEIDAE) IN CAPTIVITY

Abstract We report on efforts to maintain two common sphecid wasps, Chalybion caeruleum (Saussure 1867) and Sceliphron caementarium (Drury 1773), in field and laboratory enclosures in order to observe their predatory interactions with the orb-weaving spiders Argiope aurantia Lucas 1833 and A. trifasciata (Forskal 1775). Both species of wasps seemed to locate webs primarily by chance while flying along the tops of the vegetation but differed greatly in their hunting tactics once webs were located. Sceliphron caementarium was most successful at capturing spiders that had dropped out of webs in response to the wasp's hitting the web. But, C. caeruleum often employed a type of aggressive mimicry: it landed in the web or used its middle legs to pluck the web, luring the spider to the wasp. Argiope did not differ in their defensive response to C. caeruleum and S. caementarium. Most Argiope dropped out of webs in response to attacks rather than using other defensive behaviors such as shuttling between sides of w...

Spider Prey of Two Mud Dauber Wasps (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) Nesting in Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp

Spiders captured by Trypoxylon politum (Say) and Sceliphron caementarium (Drury) in Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp over two nesting seasons represented 5 families and 22 genera (n = 5191). A strong bias for female spiders exists in both species (89.5% of all prey), with immature females comprising nearly half of these (42.6%). Comparison of contemporaneously taken prey at the same site by T. politum using typical mud organ pipe nests or trap nests revealed that the same araneid species of Neoscona and Eustala predominated. However, spiders provisioned in trap nests were more diverse taxonomically, including the first records of Mimetidae and Salticidae as prey for this wasp, as well as a variety of other araneid genera. Seasonal changes in prey composition revealed no particular patterns or correlations with nest type. Sceliphron caementarium displayed a strong preference for araneid spiders, with N. arabesca comprising 53.8% of the total; Thomisidae comprised 10.5%, nearly all Misumenops oblongus.

CONSERVATION OF THE ARCHITECTURAL DECORATION OF MISSION SAN XAVIER DEL BAC, TUCSON, ARIZONA

The Mission of San Xavier del Bac, located seven miles south of Thcson, Arizona, on the San Xavier Tohono O'odham (Papago) Indian Reservation, is considered to be the finest example of Spanish colonial architecture in the United States. The interior of the church is almost entirely decorated in a late Mexican baroque style, comprising wall paintings as well as polychromed and gilded sculptural and architectural elements. Dating from the late eighteenth century, this·decoration is of a very high standard and is surprisingly intact. The mission ~hurch is a living monument, served daily by Franciscan fathers whose order constructed the present church c .1778-97, with the help of the indigenous Tohono O'odham Indians. The east transept chapel of 'La Madre Dolorosa' (Sorrowing Mother) contains polychromed architectural relief work and wall paintings. The latter portray La Nuestra Senora del Rosario (Our Lady of the Rosary), La Virgen Nitla (The Young Virgin Mary), and mourning figures of the Sorrowing Mother and St John the Evangelist on either side ofthe central Crucifixion. The niches and oval medallions contain relief and free-standing sculptures of Franciscan saints. The wall paintings are executed on a very fine buff-coloured and water-sensitive preparation layer applied over a lime-sand plaster. The pigments have been applied a secco with an aqueous tempera binder which is fairly sensitive to moisture. The relief decoration is composed of painted plaster moldings and cornices, th~ finest of which is the highly ornate frame of the central crucifix which consists of a stylized floral band and scalloped channels coloured with transparent glazes applied over metallic leaf. Examination of cross:-sectional samples taken from this area reveals the following stratigraphy: lime-sand stucco overlaid with two gesso preparation layers, a coarse layer covered by a finer one, both containing calcium sulphate anhydrite. Madder lake and copper resinate glazes have been applied over silver leaf on a red coloured bole. This has been overlaid with a 61i-thick varnish layer. In addition to natural earths, the pigments employed in the wall decoration include: Prussian blue, vermilion and orpiment. Although there is some minor evidence of rising damp and hygroscopic salts,. except for the areas where it is clear that there have been infiltrations of rainwater in the past (the vault), moisture does not seem to have been a major agent. of deterioration. Extremely low relative humidity, .high temperature fluctuations and high natural' and ultraviolet light levels appear to be the primary causes of the localized detachment of the painted and relief decoration. The original polychromy is largely obscured by thick layers of dust, candle soot, and bird and bat excrement as well as by the hardened nests of mud dauber wasps (Sceliphron caementarium) . During some previous effort at restoration, possibly early in the twentieth century, a fixatiye was liberally applied to the surfaces. The intention seems to have been to revitalize the original colours. The fixative, which appears to have:darkened and turned orangebrown, encouraged contraction of the paint and preparatory layers at low levels of relative humidity and resulted in the separation of these layers from their support. Analysis of the fixative using Fourier transform infrared analysis shows that it is a n.atural tree resin, possibly from the plesquite tree (Prosopis juliflora). Very unsightly filling oflacunae,'oone in 1968, is evident in the scene of the Virgen Nina. The incompatible filling material, which

Spider Prey of Two Mud Dauber Wasp Species in Comanche County, Oklahoma (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae)

Spider prey of 2 mud dauber wasps, Sceliphron caementarium (Drury) and Chalybion californicum (Saussure), was determined in Comanche Co. Oklahoma. Of 747 spiders removed from mud nest constructed by Sceliphron , 93% were either araneids or thomisids. Examination of 446 spiders from nests utilized by Chalybion showed 99.3% of them to be either araneids or theridiids.

A New Dibrachys with a Key to the Nearctic Species (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae)

Dibrachys pelos n. sp. is described from adults, larvae, and eggs reared from prepupae of Sceliphron caementarium (Drury) and nests of Osmia nigrifrons (Cresson) containing prepupae of Stelis chlorocyanea Cockerell. In the laboratory, D. pelos completed development in 19 to 23 days on the hymenopterous larvae of Sceliphron, Ancistrocerus, Tachytes, Stelis, and Megachile. A key and figures are given for the 5 Nearctic species of Dibrachys: cavus (Walker), confusus (Girault), daphne Girault, pelos Grissell, and saltans (Ratzeburg). Nearctic specimens previously reported as D. maculipennis Szelenyi are considered a misidentification of D. confusus. D. maculipennis is a Palearctic species.

THE VENOM OF THE MUD-DAUBER WASP. 3. SCELIPHRON CAEMENTARIUM: GENERAL CHARACTER.

The venom of the mud-dauber (Sceliphron caementarium), obtained by electrical excitation of the wasp, has been investigated qualitatively and quantitatively in order that no major constituent might be overlooked. Seventeen non-protein constituents, among them three free amino acids and a lecithin-like compound, were separated by chromatographic techniques and identified or characterized.This is the first investigation of any wasp venom to deal with the pure venom as opposed to a venom-apparatus extract. Examination of an extract of mud-dauber venom-apparatuses has revealed a minimum of 15 compounds not present in the venom itself, thus emphasizing the value of studies based on the natural venom.

THE VENOM OF THE MUD-DAUBER WASP. II. SCELIPHRON CAEMENTARIUM: PROTEIN CONTENT.

Gel filtration of Sceliphron caementarium venom, obtained by electrical excitation, has shown an unexpectedly small protein fraction of the dried venom. Disc electrophoresis was used to separate five venom proteins, none of which possess an antigenic character in common with wasp, yellow jacket, hornet, or honeybee venoms. Disc electrophoresis of venom and of venom sac extracts demonstrated the presence in the latter of proteins not in the venom itself.

THE VENOM OF THE MUD-DAUBER WASPS: I. SCELIPHRON CAEMENTARIUM: PRELIMINARY SEPARATIONS AND FREE AMINO ACID CONTENT

Quantitative investigation of Sceliphron caementarium venom, obtained by electrical excitation of the wasp, has shown an unexpectedly small protein fraction of the dried venom. A few percent of the venom consists of the free amino acids histidine, methionine, and pipecolic acid. Three other components have been isolated by paper and thin-layer chromatography and are found to give weak ninhydrin reactions, in addition to certain color tests characteristic of alkaloids.

THE VENOM OF THE MUD-DAUBER WASPS: I. SCELIPHRON CAEMENTARIUM: PRELIMINARY SEPARATIONS AND FREE AMINO ACID CONTENT

Quantitative investigation of Sceliphron caementarium venom, obtained by electrical excitation of the wasp, has shown an unexpectedly small protein fraction of the dried venom. A few percent of the venom consists of the free amino acids histidine, methionine, and pipecolic acid. Three other components have been isolated by paper and thin-layer chromatography and are found to give weak ninhydrin reactions, in addition to certain color tests characteristic of alkaloids.

Some Effects of X-Ray Irradiation on Respiration and Development.

In much of the previous work on the biological effects of X-rays morphological criteria alone have been used. It is, therefore, impossible to tell whether certain end-points are reached in similar or far different manner. This report states briefly the findings of a study of the effects of different intensities of irradiation on the oxygen consumption and development of the larva of the Muddauber Wasp Sceliphron caementarium. The method used to separate latent-developing (diapause) larvæ from the developing organisms has been described. Correlations between the morphological stages in development and the respiratory curve are also pointed out. Four distinct morphological and physiological stages are distinguished—larva, post-larva, pre-pupa, and pupa. When the diapause factor is present the organism remains normally in the quiescent larval stage for several weeks before developing. Such organisms when irradiated with 300-400 R. Units at the beginning of diapause remain in that condition several weeks longer than the controls. Higher intensities of irradiation (600-700 R. Units) shorten, and may even destroy the diapause factor, allowing the larva to develop at once. Still higher intensities (800-1500 R. Units) destroy diapause and permit of development which is subsequently inhibited. Organisms in which the diapause factor is no longer present are accelerated by irradiation of 300-400 R. Units. The respiratory rate is higher and the time required to reach the pre-pupal stage is much shorter than in the controls. Six hundred to 700 R. Units inhibit, and 800-1000 R. Units are lethal before the pupal stage is reached. Irradiation may affect (within limits) the physiological stage, active at the time of the treatment, without affecting following stages. If the physiological stage, dominant at the time of irradiation, is of such a character as to he antagonistic to development, then the response is not only quantitatively different from that of the developing stages, but will he apparently opposite in nature.

The Nesting Habits of the Wasp, Chalybion Caeruleum.

It sometimes happens that a pioneer investigator, in the course of his studies, makes an error, and others, following the method laid down by him, only make the crooked path well-trodden until the error is commonly accepted as truth and eventually stands unquestioned. Thus the life-history of the spider-huntress, Chalybion caeruleum, has been accepted as described by the first observers and repeated by many others, including myself. This universally accepted belief is that C. caeruleum, the steel-blue wasp, is a mud-dauber and builds its own nest. It is quite natural that investigators, seeing these wasps emerge from mud nests, concluded that the wasps built the nests, especially since they are often to be seen working on the nests or loitering at the water's edge. No one, so far as I can learn, has ever carefully followed the work of the mother Chalybion; else this error would certainly have been detected, or at least not so persistently perpetuated. The following notes will show that this steel-blue wasp is a water-carrier, and not a mud-carrier, and that with the water which she brings in her gullet she softens the mud and alters the nests of Sceliphron caementarium which she appropriates for her own use.