Physocephala wulpi, Camras, 1996

Stuke, Jens-Hermann, Lucia, Mariano & Abrahamovich, Alberto H., 2011, Host records of Physocephala wulpi Camras, with a description of the puparium (Diptera: Conopidae), Zootaxa 3038 (1), pp. 61-67 : 63

Biology of Physocephala wulpi

The Xylocopa species , parasitized with conopids, were collected in different habitats. Most nests were found in an urban environment in a northwest Buenos Aires province. The plants visited by these Xylocopa species comprise trees, shrubs, cultivated plants (mostly ornamentals) and spontaneous vegetation. The climate is temperate humid with rainfall throughout the year. One nest of Xylocopa splendidula was found in an alfalfa ( Medicago sativa L.) seed production field in a peri-saline area in southern Santiago del Estero province. Natural vegetation here consists of shrubs, herbs and abundant columnar cacti. The climate in this region is semi-arid. Several species of Physocephala are well known parasites of Xylocopa (table 2) and therefore it was not surprising to find these hosts for Physocephala wulpi . There is no other conopid genus known to parasitize Xylocopa .