Ampulex Jurine, 1807

Liu, Zhi-Zhi, Li, Qiang & Ma, Li, 2025, Three new species and one new record of Ampulex Jurine (Hymenoptera, Ampulicidae) from China, with a key to Chinese species, Journal of Hymenoptera Research 98, pp. 355-380 : 355-380

Genus Ampulex Jurine, 1807

Ampulex Jurine, 1807: 132. Type species: Chlorion compressum of Latreille and of Fabricius [= Chlorion compressum ( Fabricius, 1804) = Sphex compressus Fabricius, 1781, designated by Audouin, 1822: 301 (see Pate, 1946: 101).

Pronaeus Latreille, 1809: 56. Type species: Dryinus aeneus Fabricius, 1804, designated by Latreille, 1810: 438. Synonymized with Ampulex Jurine by Pate, 1935: 247.

Lorrhoeum Shuckard, 1837: 18. Type species: Chlorion compressum ( Fabricius, 1804) [= Sphex compressus Fabricius, 1781], by original designation and monotypy.

Rhinopsis Westwood, 1844: 68. Type species: Rhinopsis abbotti Westwood, 1844 [= Ampulex canaliculata Say, 1823, by monotypy.

Waagenia Kriechbaumer, 1874: 55. Type species: Waagenia sikkimensis Kriechbaumer, 1874, by monotypy.

Chlorampulex de Saussure, 1892: 441. Type species: Sphex compressus Fabricius, 1781, designated by Pate, 1937: 18.

Diagnosis.

Body size small to large. Surface of body often with bright metallic color, few species black or red. Female mandible long and curved, inner edge tooth lacks generally; male mandible normal, inner edge with one single tooth and varies greatly. Female clypeus strongly elevated, with median longitudinal ridge, beak-like; anterior margin with several teeth and varies greatly; male clypeus normal. Two antennal sockets separated, each covered above base by one frontal lobe. Pronotum broad, shorter or longer than mesonotum; propleurum with one narrow, transverse groove. Mesonotum wide and convex; notaulus deep and long; posterior side of mesoscutum depressed deeply. Mesopleuron with omaulus generally; sternaulus present or lacked. Propodeum nearly rectangular, with one median longitudinal carina and several lateral carinae converged posteriorly, connected by numerous regular transverse rugae; posterior surface vertical; posterior lateral angles distinct generally; lateral surface reticulate. Metanotum Y-shaped. Forewing with 2–3 submarginal cells, vein 1 m-cu received by first submarginal cell, vein 2 m-cu received by third submarginal cell (if only two submarginal cells present, it received by second submarginal cell); apex of marginal cell bent away from wing margin; vein M + Cu diverged at or just before crossvein cu-a. Hindwing with vein M + Cu diverging either before, at, or after crossvein cu-a; jugal lobe lacked. Claw with one inner tooth, shape of tooth varied. Metasomal petiole composed of S 1, S 2 features one deep basal transverse groove ( Bohart and Menke 1976).

Biology.

Ampulex comprises solitary predatory wasps that prey on various cockroaches. Adults are most active during sunny weather, often searching for prey or mates around tree trunks, leaf litter, and shrubs, and sometimes even entering human habitats. Field observations have revealed that adults primarily feed on nectar, honeydew, tree sap, and fruit juices. When capturing prey, Ampulex wasps first bite onto the body of the cockroach with their mandibles and bend metasoma, and then sting the prey repeatedly below thorax and neck to paralyze it. Ampulex wasps are skilled at utilizing any suitable existing cavities for nesting, such as soil burrows, hollow plant stems, crevices in rocks, and tree holes. After paralyzing the prey, the wasp uses its mandibles to grasp the base of the cockroach’s antennae and drags the prey backward into the nest, where it lays eggs on the prey’s body and seals the entrance using debris of various materials to complete the nesting process. The larvae, once hatched, feed on the paralyzed prey for development. After completely consuming the prey, they pupate and spin a cocoon. After maturing, they break out of the cocoon. Often, after paralyzing the prey, female Ampulex wasps will bite off the cockroach’s antennae to feed on the bodily fluids that flow from the broken antennae ( Williams 1929, 1942).

Key to Chinese species of the genus Ampulex Jurine, 1807

Females are unknown for A. albobarbata Tsuneki, 1982 ; A. alisana Tsuneki, 1967 ; A. cuprea F. Smith, 1856 ; A. murotai Tsuneki, 1973 ; A. sciophanes (Nagy, 1971) . Males are unknown for A. bidenticollis Tsuneki, 1967 ; A. dentata Matsumura & Uchida, 1926 ; A. esakii Yasumatsu, 1936 ; A. genapunctata sp. nov.; A. longiabdominalis Wu & Chou, 1985 ; A. sikkimensis ( Kriechbaumer, 1874))