Monobia quadridens
Monobia quadridens, also known as the four-toothed mason wasp, is a species of solitary potter wasp found in North America. It grows to a wingspan of, and feeds on small caterpillars and pollen. Two generations occur per year, with one generation overwintering as pupae.
Description
The abdomen of M. quadridens is entirely black, except for a broad ivory-coloured band on the first tergite. The wingspan is typically for males, and for females. It closely resembles Euodynerus bidens in size and colouration.Distribution
Monobia quadridens has a wide distribution in eastern North America. In Mexico, it is found in the states of Tamaulipas and Nuevo León, while in the United States, it is found from New Mexico, Kansas, and Wisconsin east to the East [Coast of the United States|Eastern Seaboard]. The occurrence of the species in Canada has been recorded by Buck and specimens identified as M. quadridens have been present in Canadian entomological collections for a long time.Taxonomy
Monobia quadridens was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1763 work Centuria Insectorum, under the name Vespa quadridens.Life cycle and ecology
Monobia quadridens is bivoltine, having two generations in a year. One emerges in summer, while the other overwinters as pupae before emerging the following spring. Copulation lasts for 30 minutes in M. quadridens, while in most wasp species, it only lasts a minute or two. It nests in a variety of cavities including tunnels abandoned by carpenter bees, old nests built by mud daubers, and hollow plant stems.The diet of M. quadridens is primarily composed of caterpillars of microlepidoptera, including species from the families Pyralidae, Crambidae, Elachistidae, Amphisbatidae, Gelechiidae, and Tortricidae. The diet also includes a large proportion of pollen.