Mellinus arvensis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Mellinidae
Genus: Mellinus
Species:
M. arvensis
Binomial name
Mellinus arvensis
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Mellinus arvensis, the field digger wasp, is a species of solitary wasp. The wasp can commonly be found from July to late September or October in sandy places. In hard soil however the female will often try to steal a nest from another member of the same species. The female is larger than the male.[1] The wasps' nests are underground in sandy burrows with flies for their offspring to eat. The species is yellow and black like many wasp species, but they have a more narrow waist.[2] This species is the most dominant immediately following forest fires.[3]

References

  1. ^ Multiple authors (1979). The Oxford Book of Insects. Oxford, South East England: Oxford University Press. pp. 156. ISBN 0-19-910005-5.
  2. ^ "Field Digger Wasp". Wild About Britain. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  3. ^ Bogusch, Petr; Blažej, Lukáš; Trýzna, Miloš; Heneberg, Petr (1 January 2015). "Forgotten role of fires in Central European forests: critical importance of early post-fire successional stages for bees and wasps (Hymenoptera: Aculeata)". European Journal of Forest Research. 134 (1): 153–166. doi:10.1007/s10342-014-0840-4. ISSN 1612-4677. S2CID 254190403. Retrieved 2 December 2022.


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