Metoecus paradoxus

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Endopterygota
Superordo: Coleopterida
Ordo: Coleoptera
Subordo: Polyphaga
Infraordo: Cucujiformia
Superfamilia: Tenebrionoidea

Familia: Ripiphoridae
Subfamilia: Ripiphorinae
Tribus: Macrosiagonini
Genus: Metoecus
Species: Metoecus paradoxus
Name

Metoecus paradoxus (Linnaeus)
Synonyms

Metoecus paradoxus (Linnaeus) Kôno, 1927: 180–181; Hatayama, 1985: 376, plate 65 fig. 8
Mordella paradoxa Linnaeus, 1761
Rhipiphorus paradoxus
Metoecus affinis Fischer von Waldheim, 1832
Metoecus atripennis Pic, 1916
Metoecus gradli Schilsky, 1901
Metoecus luteonotatus Pic, 1916
Metoecus multinotatus Pic, 1916
Metoecus nigrolineatus Pic, 1916
Metoecus theresae Pic, 1916
Metoecus trinotatus Pic, 1916
Metoecus viturati Pic, 1916
Mordella erythrogaster Froel, 1792

References

Hatayama, T. 1985: Family Rhipiphoridae. Pp. 374-376 + plate 65 in: Kurosawa, Y.; Hisamatsu, S.; Sasaji, H. (eds.) The Coleoptera of Japan in color, III. Tokyo, Hoikusha.
Kôno, H. 1927: Beiträg zu den Rhipiphoriden-Arten von Japan. Insecta matsumurana, 1: 177–182. PDF
Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, Metoecus paradoxus (Linnaeus, 1761) (Ripiphoridae) - D.Telnov & S.Vorss

Links to images

image

Vernacular names
čeština: vějířník nádherný
Deutsch: Wespenkäfer
English: wasp-nest beetle
日本語: ヒトスジオオハナノミ
polski: Sąsiad dziwaczek
русский: веерник обыкновенный (веерник парадоксальный)

Metoecus paradoxus, also known as the wasp nest beetle, is a species of Metoecus in the family Ripiphoridae. [1]
Description

M. paradoxus measures approximately 10 mm in length. It has a dark head and body and paler, orange-coloured pointed elytra that do not completely cover the abdomen. It has feathery antennae.[2]
Biology and lifecycle

M. paradoxus is primarily a parasitoid of Vespula vulgaris (the common wasp). Adult females lay eggs in decaying wood in autumn, which hatch in spring or summer. The first instar triungulin clings to a V. vulgaris worker to be transported to the nest. Once at the nest, the larva parasitises a wasp larva – once the larva has closed the cell, the M. paradoxus larva consumes the host and pupates in its place. Adults emerge from late July to early October. The development from larva to adult takes less than one month. Adult beetles live for between 6 and 12 days and probably do not feed.[3]
References

"Metoecus". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
"Wasp Nest Beetle". NatureSpot. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
Heitmans, W.; Peeters, T.M.J. (January 1996). "Metoecus paradoxus in The Netherlands (Coleoptera: Rhipiphoridae)". Entomologische Berichten. 56 (7): 109–117.