Sceliphron

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: Hymenopterida
Ordo: Hymenoptera
Subordo: Apocrita
Superfamilia: Apoidea

Familia: Sphecidae
Tribus: Sceliphrini
Subtribus: Sceliphrina
Genus: Sceliphron
Species: S. caementarium – S. laetum – S. spirifex – ...
Name

Sceliphron Klug, 1801
References

Sceliphron, also known as black mud daubers or black mud-dauber wasps, is a genus of Hymenoptera of the Sphecidae family of wasps. They are solitary mud daubers and build nests made of mud. Nests are frequently constructed in shaded niches, often just inside of windows or vent openings, and it may take a female only a day to construct a cell requiring dozens of trips carrying mud. Females will add new cells one by one to the nest after each cell is provisioned. They provision these nests with spiders, such as crab spiders, orb-weaver spiders and jumping spiders in particular, as food for the developing larvae. Each mud cell contains one egg and is provided with several prey items. Females of some species lay a modest average of 15 eggs over their whole lifespan.[1] Various parasites attack these nests, including several species of cuckoo wasps, primarily by sneaking into the nest while the resident mud dauber is out foraging.

As is the case with many insect genera, there are many tropical species. Some common temperate species include S. caementarium and S. curvatum.

Like other solitary wasps, Sceliphron species are not aggressive unless threatened. They are sometimes regarded as beneficial due to their control of spider populations, though the spiders themselves may be beneficial in controlling pest insects. Species such as Sceliphron curvatum are invasive in some parts of Europe, where they have been observed to rapidly increase their range in recent years.
Sceliphron species

There are 34 valid species of Sceliphron.[2]

Sceliphron arabs (Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau, 1845)
Sceliphron argentifrons (Cresson, 1916)
Sceliphron asiaticum (Linnaeus, 1758); Neotropics

Type locality In Indiis was interpreted as India; syn. S. figulum

Sceliphron assimile (Dahlbom, 1843) – Clayman's mud dauber; Texas, Mexico and Caribbean island
Sceliphron aterrimum (Marquet, 1875)
Sceliphron caementarium (Drury, 1773) (Sphex) – black and yellow mud dauber, yellow-legged mud dauber, black-waisted mud dauber

North America, established in Europe and Pacific islands by the 1970s

Sceliphron coromandelicum (Lepeletier, 1845)
Sceliphron curvatum (Smith, 1870) – Asian mud dauber; Asia, Europe since 1970s
Sceliphron deforme (F. Smith, 1856); Asia, reported from Europe in 2004
Sceliphron destillatorium (Illiger, 1807); southern Palaearctic
Sceliphron fasciatum (Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau, 1845)
Sceliphron fervens (F. Smith, 1858)
Sceliphron fistularium (Dahlbom, 1843); Neotropics
Sceliphron formosum (F. Smith, 1856); Australia
Sceliphron fossuliferum (Gribodo, 1895)
Sceliphron funestum Kohl, 1918
Sceliphron fuscum Klug, 1801
Sceliphron intrudens (F. Smith, 1858)
Sceliphron isaaci Jha and Farooqi, 1995
Sceliphron jamaicense Fabricius, 1775; Mexico, Caribbean islands
Sceliphron javanum Lepeletier, 1845
Sceliphron laetum (F. Smith, 1856); Australia
Sceliphron madraspatanum (Fabricius, 1781); Mediterranean
Sceliphron murarium (F. Smith, 1863)
Sceliphron neobilineatum Jha and Farooqi, 1995
Sceliphron paraintrudens Jha and Farooqi, 1995
Sceliphron pietschmanni Kohl, 1918
Sceliphron quartinae (Gribodo 1884)
Sceliphron rectum Kohl, 1918
Sceliphron rufopictum (F. Smith, 1856)
Sceliphron seistaniensis Jha and Farooqi, 1995
Sceliphron shestakovi Gussakovskij, 1928
Sceliphron spirifex (Linnaeus, 1758); Africa, southern Europe
Sceliphron unifasciatum (F. Smith, 1860)