26 May 2022, Chrysura cuprea? N Apennines, Italy
Posted: 29 May 2022 18:14Back on 7 July 2020, I posted a rather poor image of a chrysidid that turned out to be one of the Chrysura cuprea group, probably C. cuprea itself. Thanks again to Alex and Paolo for the ID! On 26 May this year I went to the same site and was lucky to get some better images of what looks to me like the same species. I would be very grateful if this could be confirmed or corrected: is this Chrysura cuprea?
The small site was an overgrown and damp corner of a hill farm but trees, bushes and much herbaceous ground cover have recently been cleared. Although floral resources for hymenoptera have sharply decreased, I suspect flowering plants will soon reappear, and if not built upon the site will be untouched for a few more decades. The increased area of bare ground has advantages for some ground-nesting species, and the aberrant human looking for them.
The small site was an overgrown and damp corner of a hill farm but trees, bushes and much herbaceous ground cover have recently been cleared. Although floral resources for hymenoptera have sharply decreased, I suspect flowering plants will soon reappear, and if not built upon the site will be untouched for a few more decades. The increased area of bare ground has advantages for some ground-nesting species, and the aberrant human looking for them.
