Hymenoptera of Tyson Research Center
Updated: December 1998
James H. Hunt

Listed here are Hymenoptera known to occur at Washington University's Tyson Research Center. The Center is a 2,000 acre, mostly forested tract in southwest St. Louis Co., Missouri, between the communities of Eureka and Valley Park; latitude = 38^o31'15"N, longitude = 90^o33'15"W. Inclusion on this list is based on collection records plus a few sight records. The collection is currently in the Museum of Natural History, Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis. The list at present is probably about 20% of a reasonably complete basic list: Species richness of Ichneumonidae could rival or exceed that of Braconidae; two species-rich aculeate taxa. Sphecidae and Pompilidae, are represented here by only a few determined species, and two other species-rich aculeate taxa, Formicidae and Apoidea, have scarcely been looked at.

The number of specimens in the collection is given here for each taxon; numbers generally are not representative of actual or relative abundance. When numbers of specimens are given both for a family and for species within that family, the number for the family is of unsorted/unidentified specimens.

Xyleoidea:

Family: Xyelidae

Tenthredinoidea:

Family: Argidae

Family: Tenthredinidae

Family: Pergidae

 Number of Specimens:

1

1

1

1

Stephanoidea

Family: Stephanidae

Evanoidea

Family: Evaniidae

Family: Aulacidae

Family: Gasteruptiidae

Ichneumonoidea

Family: Braconidae:
Agathis sp. 1
Agathis sp. 2
Aleiodes nolophanae (Ashmead)
Aleiodes terminalis Cresson
Aleiodes n. sp. nr. aciculatus Cresson
Aleiodes n. sp. 2 nr. burrus Cresson
Aliolus sp. 1
Aliolus sp. 2
Aliolus sp. 3
Aliolus sp. 4
Apanteles sp. 1
Apanteles sp. 2
Apanteles sp. 3
Apanteles sp. 4
Apanteles sp. 5
Apanteles sp. 6
Aphaereta sp. 1
Aphaereta sp. 2
Aridelus sp. 1
Ascogaster argentifrons (Provancher)
Ascogaster impatientis Shaw
Aspilota sp. 1
Aspilota sp. 2
Aspilota sp. 3
Aspilota sp. 4
Bracon sp. 1
Bracon sp. 2
Chelonus sp. 1
Chelonus sp. 2
Chorebus sp. 1
Chorebus sp. 2
Chorebus sp. 3
Cotesia sp. 1
Cotesia sp. 2
Cratospila sp. 1
Cyanopterus sp. 1
Digonogastra sp. 1
Diolcogaster sp. 1
Diospilus sp. 1
Dolichogenidea sp. 1
Doryctes sp. 1
Earinus sp. 1
Eubazus sp. 1
Glyptapanteles sp. 1
Glyptapanteles sp. 2
Heterospilus sp. 1
Heterospilus sp. 2
Heterospilus sp. 3
Heterospilus sp. 4
Heterospilus sp. 5
Heterospilus sp. 6
Heterospilus sp. 7
Heterospilus sp. 8
Heterospilus sp. 9
Heterospilus sp. 10
Heterospilus sp. 11
Homolobus sp. 1
Leptodrepana flaviceps (Ashmead)
Leptodrepana n. sp. nr. orians Shaw
Macrocentrus sp. 1
Macrocentrus sp. 2
Macrocentrus sp. 3
Meteorus sp. 1
Meteorus sp. 2
Meteorus sp. 3
Meteorus sp. 4
Microctonus sp. 1
Microgaster sp. 1
Microgaster sp. 2
Microplitis sp. 1
Microplitis sp. 2
Microplitis sp. 3
Mirax sp. 1
Nealiolus sp. 1
Ontsira sp. 1
Ontsira sp. 2
Ontsira sp. 3
Opius sp. 1
Opius sp. 2
Opius sp. 3
Opius sp. 4
Opius sp. 5
Opius sp. 6
Orgilus sp. 1
Orthostigma sp. 1
Orthostigma sp. 2
Pambolus sp. 1
Parahormius sp. 1
Peristenus sp. 1
Peristenus sp. 2
Phaenocarpa sp. 1
Phaenocarpa sp. 2
Phaenocarpa sp. 3
Pholetesor bedelliae (Viereck)
Pholetesor ornigis (Weed)
Protapanteles sp. 1
Promicrogaster sp. 1
Rhaconotus sp. 1
Rhysipolis sp. 1
Schizoprymnus sp. 1
Spathius sp. 1

Family: Ichneumonidae

Chalcidoidea:

Family: Eupelmidae

Family: Pteromalidae

Family: Torymidae

Cynipoidea

Proctotrupoidea

Family: Pelicinidae:
Pelicinus polyturator (Drury)

Family: Diapriidae

1

21

1

5

1
1
12
1
4
1
2
13
1
1
14
1
8
17
2
1
1
2
1
19
3
6
2
2
1
1
2
2
3
1
3
1
11
11
1
2
3
1
1
238
1
2
3
7
6
2
7
3
4
2
3
1
1
1
1
1
10
2
1
17
2
1
17
2
1
1
1
5
15
28
32
16
1
1
4
1
1
2
1
10
3
7
1
5
4
4
3
2
2
1
8
2
1
3
1
27
1
1
1
1
4

100's

2

3

6

16

2

18

Chrysidoidea

Family: Dryinidae

Family: Bethylidae

Family: Chrysididae

Scolioidea

Family: Scoliidae
Scolia bicincta Fabricius

Tiphioidea

Family: Sapygidae

Family: Tiphiidae
Myzinum -cinctum (Fabricius)
Myzinum obscurum (Fabricius)

Family: Mutillidae

Pompiloidea

Family: Pompilidae:
Anoplius sp. 1
Auploplus sp. 1
Ceropales brevicornis Patton
Cryptochelius attenuatum Banks
Entypus fulvicornis (Cresson)
Entypus unifasciatus (Say)
Pepsis elegans Lepeletier
Pompilus scelestus Cresson
Psthorapsis sp. 1
Psthorapsis sp. 2
Psthorapsis sp. 3
Tachypompilus sp. 1

Family: Rhopalosomatidae

Formicoidea

Family: Formicidae

Family: Myrmicinae
Aphaenogaster sp. 1

Family: Formicinae
Camponotus spp
Formica spp.

Vespoidea

Family: Vespidae

Family: Eumeninae
Ancistrocerus antilope (Panzer)
Eumenes fraternus Say
Euodynerus foraminatus (Saussure)
Monobia quadridens (L.)
Zethus sp. 1

Family: Polistinae
Polistes annularis (L.)
Polistes carolina (L.)
Polistes dorsalis (Fabricius)
Polistes exclamans Viereck
Polistes fuscatus (Fabricius)
Polistes metricus Say
Polistes perplexus Cresson
Mischocyttarus sp. 1

Family: Vespinae
Dolichovespula maculata (L.)
Vespula germanica (Fabricius)
Vespula maculifrons (Buysson)

Apoidea

Family: Sphecidae
Ammophila aureonotata Cameron
Ammophila sp. 1
Chalybion californicum (Saussure)
Chalybion zimmermanni Dahlbom
Dolichurus sp. 1
Sceliphron caementarium (Drury)
Tachytes sp. 1
Trypoxylon politum Say

Family: Nyssonidae
Sphecius speciosus (Drury)

Family: Apiformes

Family: Megachilidae

Family: Halictidae
Augochlorella spp.
Halictus spp.

Family: Anthophoridae
Xylocopa virginica (L.)

Family: Apidae
Bombus spp.
Apis mellifera L.

15

25

52

1
11

11

1
1

10

50
1
2
6
1
1
2
1
16
2
1
1
3

37

12

sight record

sight record
sight record

15
1
2
1
10's
1

1
4
20
photo
37
20
1
3

 
10's
1
6

23
23
1
7
1
1
23
1
sight record

1

32

10

30
 

3

2
1

Mischocyttarus sp. 1 (Vespidae, Polistinae): U.S. record specimens. Mischocyttarus is the most species-rich genus of Neotropical social wasps. Although a few species are recorded from the U.S., none are known within 600 miles of Missouri, and this is not one of the known U.S. species. The three specimens were taken in a malaise trap in early October, 1998, and they must have come from a nest/colony near the trap. The founders of the Tyson population were probably imported to Tyson on a wolf or raptor cage. Whether the foundress(es) came in spring 1998 or whether the species has been established at Tyson for longer than a year is unknown. Intensive searching for Mischocyttarus will be undertaken in 1999.

Polistes exclamans (Vespidae, Polistinae): long-term abundance variation. Polistes exclamans was never mentioned in the voluminous writings on wasps of the St. Louis region by Phil Rau, spanning the years from the mid 1910's to mid 1940's. It was abundant, though, when Mary Jane West-Eberhard visited Rau's field sites in the mid 1960's, and it was a study species for J. H. Hunt at Tyson in the 1970's. However, Hunt has seen no P. exclamans in St. Louis County, including Tyson, since ca. 1989. [ref: Hunt, J. H. and D. P. Sanders, 1999, Distributional notes on some Missouri social wasps (Hymenoptera: Polistes, Vespa, Dolichovespula, Vespula), Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society of America, in press.]

Chalybion zimmermanni (Sphecidae): Missouri listed taxon. Tyson is one of only two localities in the state from which this species is known; observations at Tyson were reported in: Landes, D. A. and J. H. Hunt, 1988, Chalybion zimmermanni zimmermanni Dahlbom in a mixed sleeping aggregation with Chalybion californicum (Saussure) in Missouri (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae), Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 61:230-231.

Mischocyttarus sp. 1 (Vespidae, Polistinae)

Vespula germanica (Vespidae, Vespinae) ref: Hunt, J. H. and D. P. Sanders, 1999, Distributional notes on some Missouri social wasps (Hymenoptera: Polistes, Vespa, Dolichovespula, Vespula), Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society of America, in press.

Apis mellifera (Apidae)

Significant contribution to the collection on which this Hymenoptera list is based was made by Dr. James B. Whitfield, a systematist specializing in Braconidae. He collected and determined most of the specimens of Symphyta and non-aculeate Apocrita. Most of the specimens and determinations of Aculeata reflect the efforts of J. H. Hunt, but noteworthy additions to the collection were made by two students, Michael S. Arduser in the mid-1980's and, in fall 1998, John Eimes.

[Hymenoptera section contributed by James H. Hunt]