Ancistrocerus biphaleratus (de Saussure, 1852)

Cassar, Thomas, Mifsud, David & Selis, Marco, 2022, The potter wasps of the Maltese Islands (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Eumeninae), Journal of Hymenoptera Research 90, pp. 201-212 : 201

Ancistrocerus biphaleratus (de Saussure, 1852)

Material examined.

Malta • 1♀, Buskett , 27 Feb. 2021, T. Cassar leg. ; 1♂, Dingli, 2 Feb. 2020, T. Cassar leg. ; 1♀, Gћajn Riћana, 15 Dec. 2019, T. Cassar leg.; 2♀♀, Gћar il-Kbir, 29 Mar. 2020, T. Cassar leg.; 1♀, Gћar il-Kbir, 5 Apr. 2020, T. Cassar leg.; 1♀, Qrendi, 29 Feb. 2020, T. Cassar leg. ; 1♂, Żebbuġ, 20 Nov. 2019, T. Cassar leg.; 1♀, Żebbuġ, 20 Feb. 2020, T. Cassar leg.; 1♀, Żebbuġ, iii.2020, T. Cassar leg.

Notes.

All the above cited material corresponds to the subspecies Ancistrocerus biphaleratus tripolitanus (von Schulthess, 1924), a taxon first recorded in the Maltese Islands by Schembri (1985) which can also be found in Cyrenaica (Libya). However, another subspecies has been recorded from the Maltese archipelago, Ancistrocerus biphaleratus triphaleratus (de Saussure, 1855), first by Erlandsson (1972), then confirmed by material collected by Schembri (1980). This latter taxon is more widely distributed within Europe, including Iberia, France, Sardinia (Italy), Sicily (Italy) and Greece; it is also found in Northwest Africa and Asia Minor (Carpenter, unpublished). The presence of these two subspecies in Malta was discussed by Schembri (1985).