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Te pī meihana

Mason wasp

Pison spinolae Shuckard
Hoki ki te He aha tēnei pepeke? Back to What is this bug?
New Zealand Mason Wasp [Pison spinolae]. Image: Steve Kerr / CC-BY

New Zealand Mason Wasp Pison spinolae. Image: Steve Kerr / CC-BY

Pūtoi
Order
Hymenoptera
Whānau
Family
Sphecidae
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Te Rahi

  • Ka āhua 16 mm te roa.

Size range

  • About 16 mm long

Te Tītaringa

  • He momo māori, ka kitea puta noa i Aotearoa.

Distribution

  • Native species found throughout New Zealand

Te Huringa Ora

  • Ka hangaia e te uwha tana kōhanga ki te paru, kia motuhake tēnā me tēnā whaitua. Kitea nuitia ai ngā kōhanga nei i ngā ārai me ngā kōhao kī.
  • Ka tukuna e ia he hua ki ia whaitua, me te kuhu atu anō i tētahi pūngāwerewere māwhaiwhai porohita ki tēnā, ki tēnā, hei kai mā te torongū ka puta ā tōna wā.
  • Kai ai te pakeke i te ngongo.
  • I a ia e whakarite ana i te paru mō te kōhanga, ka puta i te pakeke he oro pēnei i te uene nei.

Life history

  • The female builds a nest of several cells made of mud, often in folds of curtains or keyholes
  • She lays an egg in each cell and provides a paralysed orbweb spider as food for the emerging larva
  • Adults eat nectar
  • Makes a whining noise while processing mud for the nest
New Zealand Mason Wasp [Pison spinolae]. Image: Steve Kerr / CC-BY Image
New Zealand Mason Wasp Pison spinolae. Image: Steve Kerr / CC-BY
New Zealand Mason Wasp [Pison spinolae] nest. Image: heymilly / CC-BY-NC Image
New Zealand Mason Wasp Pison spinolae nest. Image: heymilly / CC-BY-NC
New Zealand Mason Wasp [Pison spinolae] nest. Image: Robin Wardrop Image
New Zealand Mason Wasp Pison spinolae nest. Image: Robin Wardrop