Omalus biaccinctus is a species of cuckoo wasps belonging to the family Chrysididae.[1]
| Omalus biaccinctus | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Chrysididae |
| Genus: | Omalus |
| Species: | O. biaccinctus
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| Binomial name | |
| Omalus biaccinctus (R. du Buysson, 1893)
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| Synonyms | |
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Distribution and habitat
editThis species is present in most of Europe (Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and The Netherlands), in the eastern Palearctic realm, and in the Near East.[2] These wasps occur in musk forests.
Description
editOmalus biaccinctus can reach a body length of about 4 mm (0.16 in). In these small wasps head, pronotum and mesonotum are unpunctuated but vaguely rough. The face is green-blue and antennae are brown, with the first two segments green. The thorax is blue-indigo and very convex. The abdomen is shiny golden-red, subglobular and wider than the fore-body. Wings are quite smoky in the rear half. Legs are blue-green and tarsi reddish-brown, but the first section is green.[3][4][5]
Biology
editThese wasps are nesting parasites of solitary wasps Passaloecus species.[6] This species has also been reported laying eggs inside living aphids, later preyed by aphid-hunting crabronids. In such a way O. biaccinctus through the aphids can enter in the nest of the crabronid in order to lay its eggs.[7]
References
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- ^ Biolib
- ^ Fauna Europaea
- ^ Chrysys - Description
- ^ Paolo Rosa, Na-Sen Wei, Zai-Fu Xu Contribution to the genus Omalus Panzer, 1801 of China, with descriptions of two new species (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae)
- ^ Key for the identification of the Italian genera of Chrysidids
- ^ Chrysis – Known Hosts
- ^ P. Winterhagen Strategy for sneaking into a host’s home: The cukoo wasp Omalus biaccinctus (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae) insert its eggs into living aphids that are the prey of its host
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