著者

郡場 央基

出版者

東京昆蟲學會

雑誌

昆蟲

巻号頁・発行日

vol.25, no.3, pp.99-101, 1957

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(1) I found Ampulex amoena Stal in Kyoto first in the summer of 1951. Since then the wasp was observed every year in my garden. It appears in June and disappears in late autumn. In 1954 the first ♀ was found on June 21 while in 1956 on June 29 and the last ♀ was seen on Nov.13 in 1955. (2) The adult wasps (♀♂) seems to suck in sap oozing out from the points injured by the rostrum of cicadas (Graptopsaltria nigrofuscata Motschulsky and Platypleura kaempheri Fabricius on Abies and other trees. (3) The female wasp hunts the medium-sized nymph of Periplaneta picea Shiraki and hides it in some crevices of wooden buildings to oviposit on it. At 2 p.m. on Aug. 13, 1956, I observed only once her hunting habit in a small glass box (7×5×0.5 cm.) made as a cage for artificial ant nest. "She grasped one of the cockroach legs with her mandibles to prevent it from escape and soon changed her grasping point to the edge of its 2nd abdominal tergite. She stretched her abdomen towards the ventral surface of its thorax to sting it at the base of one of its coxae. The stinging point was not ascertained. Then she seized it by the proximal portion of its antennae and stung it 3 times behind its gular region. She began to transport it seizing by its antennae." (4) The paralyzed cockroach (18 mm. long) had short-cut antennae (6 mm. long) and was able to move its legs violently when stimulated but not walk voluntarily. It could suck up fruit juice the next day. The wasp egg (2.5×0.95 mm.) was attached longitudinally along the basal portion of one of its mesocoxae, directing its cephalic pole proximad. (5) The above egg hatched at 6 : 35 a.m. on Aug. 15. After sucking up the body fluid, the larva began to devour the prey at 15 p.m. on Aug. 17 and the prey lost its response ability. On Aug. 20 the larva spun its cocoon and on Sep. 19 a female wasp came out from this cocoon.