wild carrot wasp

(Gasteruption assectator)

Conservation Status
wild carrot wasp
Photo by Alfredo Colon
  IUCN Red List

not listed

 
  NatureServe

not listed

 
  Minnesota

not listed

 
           
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Wild carrot wasp is widespread and fairly common across North America and Europe. It is a parasite on the nests of bees and wasps that nest in wood or twigs.

Adults are ½ to ¾ long and mostly black with some reddish-brown markings.

The head is black and is clearly separated from the thorax by a long neck. The back of the head is shallowly concave when viewed from above. The top of the head is dull, not shiny, and is covered with scattered, small, indistinct punctures. The mouth parts are brown. The compound eyes are conspicuously covered with dense, short hairs. The antennae are short and thread-like. The female antenna has 14 segments, the male antenna 13 segments. The fourth antennal segment is 2.5 times as long as wide on the male, 2.7 times as long as wide on the male.

The thorax is entirely black. The upper front margin of the plate on the first thoracic segment (pronotum) usually has a weak, blunt, forward-projecting tooth. The second thoracic segment (mesonotum), has fine, smooth sculpting and small, indistinct punctures. The lateral lobe is dull, not shiny. It has scattered, fine, indistinct punctures, and is not wrinkled. The small plate covering the wing base (tegula) is black.

The abdomen very long, slender, and mostly black. It is attached to the thorax high, far above the bases of the hind legs (coxae). It is very slender at the base, gradually widening as it approaches the tip. The end of the second and third abdominal segments are reddish-brown. On the female, the ovipositor sheath is entirely black and short, a little over one third the length of the forewing.

The forewing has a closed cell on the front (costal) margin. In the median area, there is only a single cross vein (recurrent vein) and a single closed medial cell. When at rest, the forewing folds back on itself.

The front and middle legs are brown beyond the two black basal segments. The tibia on the front and middle legs are distinctly pale at the tip. On the hind leg the second basal segment (trochanter) has two segments. The tibia are swollen and have a pale area near the base. The section corresponding to the foot (tarsus) is brown and has five segments. The second segment is long, about 3.7 times as long as wide on the male, 3.0 times as long as wide in the female.

 
     
 

Size

 
 

Total length: ½ to ¾

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
  Gasteruption kirbii is very similar but much rarer.  
     
 
Habitat
 
 

 

 
     
 
Biology
 
 

Season

 
 

Mid-May through September

 
     
 

Behavior

 
 

 

 
     
 

Life Cycle

 
 

Third stage (instar) larvae overwinter in cocoons. They pupate in the spring and emerge as adults in spring or early summer.

 
     
 

Larva Food

 
 

The larva in the cell of the host nest, followed by the food collected for it in that cell. When that is consumed, it may move on to an adjacent cell.

 
     
 

Adult Food

 
 

Flower nectar and pollen

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

24, 27, 29, 30, 82.

 
  12/14/2022      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Fairly common

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
 

Order

Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps, and sawflies)  
 

Suborder

Apocrita (narrow-waisted wasps, ants, and bees)  
 

Superfamily

Evanioidea (aulacid, carrot, and ensign wasps)  
 

Family

Gasteruptiidae (carrot wasps)  
 

Subfamily

Gasteruptiinae  
 

Genus

Gasteruption  
       
 

Subordinate Taxa

 
 

wild carrot wasp (Gasteruption assectator assectator)

wild carrot wasp (Gasteruption assectator utahensis)

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

 

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

wild carrot wasp

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Instar

The developmental stage of arthropods between each molt; in insects, the developmental stage of the larvae or nymph.

 

Mesonotum

The principal exoskeletal plate on the upper (dorsal) part of the middle segment of the thorax of an insect.

 

Pronotum

The exoskeletal plate on the upper side of the first segment of the thorax of an insect.

 

Tarsus

On insects, the last two to five subdivisions of the leg, attached to the tibia; the foot. On spiders, the last segment of the leg. Plural: tarsi.

 

Tegula

A small, hardened, plate, scale, or flap-like structure that overlaps the base of the forewing of insects in the orders Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Homoptera. Plural: tegulae.

 

Tibia

The fourth segment of an insect leg, after the femur and before the tarsus (foot).

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Visitor Photos
 
           
 

Share your photo of this insect.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach one or more photos and, if you like, a caption.
 
 

Alfredo Colon

 
    wild carrot wasp      
           
    wild carrot wasp   wild carrot wasp  
           
    wild carrot wasp   wild carrot wasp  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

 

 
           

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
Gasteruptiidae
Nikolai Vladimirov
  Gasteruptiidae  
Gasteruption assectator ?
Petra Karg
  Gasteruption assectator ?  
 
About

Gichtwespe, Schmarotzer Hylaeus?

 

 

slideshow

       
 
Visitor Videos
 
       
 

Share your video of this insect.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link.
 
 

 

 
     
     
       
       
 
Other Videos
 
  Naturbeobachtung Schmalbauchwespe Gasteruption assectator(L. 1758))
Boris Karl Holger Schnebele
 
   
 
About

Published on Aug 31, 2017

Noch lässt sich "Natur" beobachten - wie lange wohl noch?

Jene Art Schmalbauchwespe legt ihre Eier in Nester von Hylaeus-Bienen oder auch Grabwespen(je nach Quellenangaben) ab.

Dort frisst sie dann ihre Wirtslarve sowie deren Vorräte auf.

Hier besucht sie Blüten des Korianders.

http://www.insektenbox.de/hautfl/gastas.htm

Google Translation: Still "nature" can be observed - how much longer?

The species of beetle wasp lays its eggs in nests of Hylaeus bees or diggers wasps (depending on sources).

There she then eats her host larva and their supplies.

Here she visits flowers of coriander.

 

 

Camcorder

 
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

Report a sighting of this insect.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Be sure to include a location.
 
  Alfredo Colon
8/20/2022

Location: Albany, NY

wild carrot wasp  
  Alfredo Colon
8/8/2022

Location: Albany, NY

wild carrot wasp  
  Alfredo Colon
6/10/2018

Location: Woodbury, Minnesota

wild carrot wasp  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
 

 

 

 

 

Binoculars


Last Updated:

About Us | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | © MinnesotaSeasons.com. All rights reserved.