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Project Noah Nature School
Pelecinus sp.
Black shiny wasp, body length 5 cm. Large bulbous protrusions on the upper thorax. The Family Pelecinidae contains a single american genus with only 3 extant species and a couple of fossil species. Pelecinus polyturator occurs from southeastern Canada through central and eastern United States and southwards through Argentina. Males are extremely rare in temperate climates and the females tend to be larger and parthenogenic. Males are more often seen in tropical climates and females are usually smaller. Pelecinus thoracicus occurs in southern Mexico while Pelecinus dichrous occurs only in southern South America. This relatively small female might be P. thoracicus, because of the very large thoracic bumps. These wasps are parasites of certain scarab beetle larvae, inserting their long abdomens down into the soil to place an egg on a buried larva. Both sexes feed on nectar and water.
Came to an ultraviolet light in the garden (first time ever in many years of running a light nightly). I have seen females only one other time in the gardens of Na-Bolom in the center of town, flying low among the foliage. San Cristobal de Las Casas, 2,200 meters. I have never found a male.
Billo spotted a male Pelecinus in 2013 in July 2013 in Orizaba, Veracruz, Mexico (several hours northeast of San Cristobal). A very rare spotting. http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/358.... His male also has the very prominent thoracic bumps. A female labeled as Pelecinus thoracicus on Flicker (and not a confirmed ID) is from Jalapa, Veracruz and also has the prominent thoracic bumps https://www.flickr.com/photos/miguelange.... The thoracic bumps on Pelecinus polyturator seem less conspicuous in pictures. I am waiting to receive a copy of the article by Johnson and Mussetti (1999) which presents a key to the species: (Journal of Natural History Vol. 33 pp. 1513-1543) . See also "An Elegant Living Fossil…" by Ted MacRae, Beetles in the Bush, 2013: https://beetlesinthebush.wordpress.com/2... and http://www.redalyc.org/pdf/491/49140101.....
Spotted on Jul 19, 2015
Submitted on Jul 24, 2015
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