Chalybion
Genus of wasps
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chalybion, also known as blue mud-dauber wasps, is a genus of wasp in the family Sphecidae.[2] The species often nest in old, abandoned mud nests of other species and in pre-existing cavities.
| Chalybion | |
|---|---|
| |
| Chalybion japonicum | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Sphecidae |
| Subfamily: | Sceliphrinae |
| Tribe: | Sceliphrini |
| Genus: | Chalybion Dahlbom, 1843 |
| Type species | |
| Chalybion californicum (Saussure, 1867) | |
| Species | |
|
54 extant + 1 extinct species | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Chalybium Agassiz, 1846 | |
Taxonomy and phylogeny
Chalybion was originally described as a genus by Dahlbom in 1843. Kohl demoted Chalybion to a subgenus of Sceliphron in 1918 and established Hemichalybion as a sister subgenus of Sceliphron. Both Chalybion and Hemichalybion were elevated to genus status by Bohart and Menke in 1963. The same authors then demoted Hemichalybion to a subgenus of Chalybion in 1976.[3]
Distribution and habitat
Chalybion species are present in all continents except for Antarctica though are most common in the Nearctic[4] and Paleotropic regions.[5]
Behavior
Females of Chalybion species nest in a wide range of natural or artificial pre-existing cavities, such as holes in stone,[6] wood, in walls, and in plant stems.[4] They also reuse old mud nests of other wasps, including those of Trypoxylon, Sceliphron,[7] Eumeninae,[8] and Ageniellini,[9] or old mud nests of bees.[10]
C. californicum in particular is known for repurposing old nests of Sceliphron caementarium.[3] The females then hunt and paralyze spiders, particularly of the families Araneidae and Theridiidae, which they use as provisions their brood cells.[7]
Interaction with other species
Species
There are 54 described living species of Chalybion:[3][1]
Subgenus Chalybion (Chalybion) Agassiz, 1846
- Chalybion fuscum (Lepeletier, 1845) (Madagascar, Sri Lanka)
- Chalybion ohli Dollfuss, 2016
- Chalybion yangi Li, 1995
Chalybion bengalense species-group
- Chalybion bengalense (Dahlbom, 1845) (Hawaii, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Socotra, South Africa; introduced in Italy[11])
- Chalybion clarebaltazarae Abenis & Lit, 2020
- Chalybion flebile (Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau, 1845)
- Chalybion japonicum (Gribodo, 1880) (China, Japan, Ryukyu Islands, South Korea, Tanzania, Thailand)
- Chalybion klapperichi (Balthasar, 1957)
- Chalybion minos (de Beaumont, 1965)
- Chalybion omissum (Kohl, 1889)
- Chalybion petroleum Hensen, 1988
- Chalybion saudiarabicum Schmid-Egger, 2025
- Chalybion stephenreyesi Abenis & Lit, 2020
- Chalybion turanicum (Gussakovskij, 1935)
- Chalybion vechti Hensen, 1988
- Chalybion walteri (Kohl, 1889)
- Chalybion zimmermanni Dahlbom, 1843 (North America)
- Chalybion zimmermanni zimmermanni Dahlbom, 1843
- Chalybion zimmermanni aztecum (de Saussure, 1867)
- Chalybion zimmermanni peninsulare R. Bohart and Menke, 1963
Chalybion californicum species-group
- Chalybion californicum (de Saussure, 1867) (North America; introduced in Croatia[10])
Chalybion fabricator species-group
Chalybion gredleri species-group
- Chalybion gredleri (Kohl, 1918) (Democratic Republic of Congo)
- Chalybion triangulum Hensen, 1988 (Central African Republic, Gambia, Togo)
Chalybion incisum species-group
- Chalybion incisum Hensen, 1988
Chalybion madecassum species-group
- Chalybion bonneti Leclercq, 1966 (Madagascar)
- Chalybion dolichothorax (Kohl, 1918)
- Chalybion frontale (Kohl, 1906)
- Chalybion gracile Hensen, 1988
- Chalybion iridescens Pham & Ohl, 2025
- Chalybion madecassum (Gribodo, 1883) (Madagascar, Seychelles Islands)
- Chalybion polyphemus Hensen, 1988
Chalybion tibiale species-group
- Chalybion ammophiloides Hensen, 1988
- Chalybion bocandei (Spinola, 1851)
- Chalybion bocandei bocandei (Spinola, 1851) (Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Sierre Leone)
- Chalybion bocandei aeronitens Hensen, 1988 (Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo)
- Chalybion heinii (Kohl, 1906)
- Chalybion henseni Schmid-Egger, 2025
- Chalybion kenyae Hensen, 1988 (Kenya)
- Chalybion laevigatum (Kohl, 1888) (Botswana, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zanzibar)
- Chalybion mochii Hensen, 1988 (Kenya)
- Chalybion parvulum Hensen, 1988 (Kenya)
- Chalybion planatum (Arnold, 1951) (Ethiopia)
- Chalybion ruficorne Hensen, 1988 (Central African Republic)
- Chalybion schulthessirechbergi (Kohl, 1918) (Democratic Republic of Congo)
- Chalybion sommereni (R.Turner, 1920) (Angola, Kenya, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo)
- Chalybion tibiale (Fabricius, 1781) (South Africa)
- Chalybion tomentosum Hensen, 1988
Subgenus Chalybion (Hemichalybion) Kohl, 1918
Chalybion spinolae species-group
- Chalybion clypeatum (Fairmaire, 1858) (Angola, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Gabon, Mozambique, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo)
- Chalybion clypeatum clypeatum (Fairmaire, 1858)
- Chalybion clypeatum lusingi (Leclercq, 1955) (Democratic Republic of Congo)
- Chalybion clypeatum kiloensis (Leclercq, 1955) (Democratic Republic of Congo)
- Chalybion spinolae (Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau, 1845)
- Chalybion spinolae spinolae (Lepeletier, 1845) (Ethiopia, South Africa, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo)
- Chalybion spinolae rufopictum (Magretti, 1884) (Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali)
- Chalybion spinolae saussurei (Kohl, 1918) (South Africa)
- Chalybion sumatranum (Kohl, 1884)
Chalybion femoratum species-group
- Chalybion femoratum (Fabricius, 1781)[12]
Extinct species
There is one described fossil species of Chalybion:[1]
- Chalybion mortuum Cockerell, 1907
See also
Gallery
C. (Hemichalybion) spinolae in South Africa.
C. (Chalybion) bengalense in India.
C. (Chalybion) californicum in North Carolina.
C. (Chalybion) femoratum in Italy.
C. (Chalybion) flebile in Spain.
C. (Chalybion) japonicum in Japan.
C. (Chalybion) zimmermanni aztecum in Texas.
C. (Chalybion) zimmermanni zimmermanni in Arkansas.
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