What’s Bugging


by Rusty Burlew


Random Acts of Pollination


so what was I seeing? Clueless, I snapped a few photos for a closer look. The creature in the portrait is a beewolf, a solitary,


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ground-nesting wasp that preys on bees. Although wasps are often dismissed as pollinators, the vast amount of pollen on this fellow’s ab- domen tells a different tale. Unlike a bee, a beewolf has ab- solutely no use for pollen and would never collect it deliberately. Instead, the plant—in this case a goldenrod— takes advantage of the wasp’s anatomy, and gives him a load he doesn’t want. Some female beewolves are so pol-


len-adverse they carefully remove and discard any pollen adhering to the bees they catch. Once the prey is clean, the female stores the ready-to-eat prey for her larval offspring to munch on. It seems the kids don’t like vegetables.


Brush-On Pheromones This particular beewolf, Philanthus crabroniformis, lives in the western states


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hat’s with the abdominal scopa? I wondered,  mystery, but this was crazy. Wasps don’t have bellies bedecked with pollen-carrying hairs,


and is especially fond of nectaring in Solidago species. After emergence, the male squeezes mandibular pheromone into two small hair brushes that protrude from the sides of his face. Using the wetted brushes, he paints the pheromone on  is done, he uses his much more massive abdominal brushes to smear the pheromone around and assure good coverage. He just wiggles his rear until the job is done.


© Rusty Burlew


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