Crabronidae, Crossocerus sp.?

[JRsbugs]

Hi,

This little wasp was on a t-shirt, not a chunky knit jumper!

Around 6-7mm long, 17th July.

Closest I have found is Crossocerus wesmaeli but the leg colouring is a little different.

I guess it's impossible to ID to species, but if anyone knows please tell me. (yes, I could have nabbed it but I thought it should be free)

Janet

[JRsbugs]

I found Crossocerus varus which is a perfect match for the leg pattern and it would appear the face too.

Is this known by any other name as it's not on our list, and the site these pics are on would be correct.

[jezlee]

Nice pics, Janet, whatever it is! I don't think I have come across these wasps before - have we got many species in the UK?

[JRsbugs]

Hi jez,

I have had a few different ones but they can be difficult to find! We have 21 species listed, looks like I've got another but that I know is going to present problems!

Check out the distribution maps for wasps

I found one I had last year on a NL site, it's a perfect match for Crossocerus megacephalus and it's fairly widely distributed.

At such a small size you might not notice them easily.

[JRsbugs]

I found it!

C. varus is a synonym for Crossocerus pusillus

And it is well distributed, but of course Lincolnshire is once again sterile and has not a single insect!

[eucera]

Fiendishly difficult to do are the little black Crossocerus. Separating C. megacephalus from C. nigritus is a microscope job, as is the task of separating C.pusillus from C. tarsatus. Only a few species can be done with a realtively quick look I'm afraid

[JRsbugs]

Oh well, thanks Stuart!

I found the other one I posted last year and brought it up with a link to a NL site, C. megacephalus which shows the orangey coloured spines on the legs.