Chalybion californicum
| Chalybion californicum | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Sphecidae |
| Genus: | Chalybion |
| Species: | C. californicum
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| Binomial name | |
| Chalybion californicum | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
The blue mud dauber or blue mud wasp (Chalybion californicum) is a metallic blue species of mud dauber wasp first described by Henri Louis Frédéric de Saussure in 1867. It is not normally aggressive towards humans.[2] It is similar in shape and colour to the steel-blue cricket hunter (Chlorion aerarium). Like other types of wasps, males do not have an ovipositor, and therefore cannot sting. It is ranged from northern Mexico to southern Canada, including most of the United States.[3] It has also been introduced to regions including Hawaii, Bermuda and Croatia[4]
It is most famous for its predation of black widow spiders.[2] Adults feed on the nectar of flowers, which powers their flight. They pollinate some common wildflowers, including Berberis vulgaris, Daucus carota, and Zizia aurea. Larvae are fed spiders, often Latrodectus mactans. They prefer to hunt prey on the ground or under rocks.
Females can build their own nests, but often refurbishes nests abandoned by other wasps and bees,[4] particularly those of Sceliphron camentarium,[5] removing any spiders captured by S. camentarium and the larva, replacing it with an egg of its own and freshly caught spiders.[3] They go through multiple generations in a year.
References
- ^ a b Day, M. C. (1979). "The species of Hymenoptera described by Linnaeus in the genera Sphex, Chrysis, Vespa, Apis and Mutilla". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 12 (1): 45–84. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.1979.tb00049.x.
- ^ a b Drees, Bastiaan M.; Jackman, John A. (1999). "Mud Daubers". Field Guide to Texas Insects. Gulf Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-87719-263-3. Archived from the original on 12 July 2007. Retrieved 10 July 2007.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|last-author-amp=ignored (|name-list-style=suggested) (help) - ^ a b https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/pollinator-of-the-month/blue-mud-wasp.shtml#:~:text=Its%20range%20extends%20from%20northern,to%20the%20Great%20Lakes%20region!
- ^ a b http://www.sea-socios.com/Boletines/PDF/Boletin58/239-240BSEA58.pdf
- ^ "Species Chalybion californicum – Blue Mud Wasp". BugGuide. Department of Entomology, Iowa State University. 10 June 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.