Animation: Jeroen de Rond
A hovering Anthidium
Below is a slightly altered translation of our Site Map. From it you can link to individual summaries.
For the first time knowledge about wasps and ants in the Netherlands is bundled in one book. This provides an impressive view of the biology, ecology and distribution of these insects. Twelve chapters deal with the following topics, amongst others: nest building, hunting behavior, reproduction, parasitism, the evolution of social behavior, conservation and an identification key for all genera in the Netherlands.
"De Wespen en Mieren van Nederland"
Authors: Peeters, T.M.J. , Achterberg, C. van , Heitmans, W.R.B., et. al.
Pages: 496
Price 64.95 euro
ISBN: 90-5011-174-2
Please refer to the original page, which is an article in English by Donald Quicke.
The section Hymenoptera of the Netherlands Entomological Society originated from the Aculeata working group. The working group was established in 1990 after an excursion inspired by a lecture on the influence of the intriguing kleptoparasitic bees of the genus Sphecodes on a population of the sweat bee Lasioglossum prasinum. Broadening the scope of the working group in 1995 to include the study of sawflies and woodwasps (Symphyta) and parasitic wasps (Parasitica) the group was transformed into the section Hymenoptera. In 1995 the first issue of Bzzz, newsletter of the section, was published. Bzzz functions as an important communication platform between the members of the section. The mission of the section is to intensify contact between its members and to make available and share information on Hymenoptera. The section also aims to establish and strengthen contacts with international enthusiasts on Hymenoptera.
Each year the section organizes two outdoor excursions and a day devoted to lectures and identification of material. The section stimulates the preparation of identification keys. Currently, keys are being prepared for identification of families and genera of Symphyta, Pompilidae and species of Nomada and Sphecodes.
Smit, Jan, 2004. De wespbijen (Nomada) van Nederland (Hymenoptera: Apidae). - Nederlandse Faunistische Mededelingen 20: 33-125. Price: € 13,- Order by email at: Bureau EIS-Nederland, Postbus 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, www.naturalis.nl/eis.
A survey of the often red, yellow and/or black, essentially hairless bees which strongly resemble wasps. Nomadas do not collect pollen or build their own nest, but live as a cuckoo-parasitoids in the nests of other bees. The article comes complete with determination keys for the 48 species found in northwest Europe and photographs plus distribution maps of all 44 apecies found in the Netherlands. There is extensive information concerning the appearance, distribuition, biology and Red List status of each specie.
A "must" for every bee-lover in the Netherlands and Belgium.
You can use our e-mail address to send in all your interesting hymenoptera catches in the Netherlands.
Pim Kuijken is being replaced by Frank van der Meer as secretary of the Board of our section.
Our next study day takes place on Saturday, 27 January 2007 at Plantage Middenlaan 64 in Amsterdam. The subject is Lasioglossum. It is being presented by Frank van der Meer.
This page concerns a theme (Conservation) for number 25 of our newsletter Bzzz, dues for 2007 and a photograph book of our members.
See the page "APIS-hokken" (in Dutch) for maps and tables concerning our "APIS-squares Project." In this project we are attempting to coordinate the survey of 307 squares on the Dutch map which have been mostly left untouched by hymenopterologists the past few decades.
The following issues of Bzzz (in Dutch) are available for download as pdf:
Doing an inventory of a certain terrain consists of more than just turning in a list of species found. The owner of the territory will also want to know something the distribution of the species and their habitats.
Virgilius Lefeber was born 75 years ago (in 1921) in
Amsterdam. His interest in nature was evident from an early age.
Upon completion of his education (and already a brother amongst
the "Brothers of Maastricht") he started teaching school in
Helmond, Brabant. His pupils were soon learning the differences
and similarities between the various groups of wasps.
Around the time that he left Helmond he joined the Dutch
Entomological Society, (NEV). At the same time
he started publishing his first articles about aculeata. In 1964
he moved to the entomologically interesting Maastricht in South
Limburg. He wrote many articles about the fauna of the hills of
South Limburg (in an otherwise flat country). He also laid the
groundwork for a survey of all the aculeata in the
Netherlands.
We wish him a long life, and may he continue to share his
knowledge with us!
Groningen is one of the northern provinces of the Netherlands. The village of Pieterburen lies 2 kilometers from the coast. It is most well know for its seal crêche and "wadlopen," walking across the mud flats of the Wad. There is a Reformed Church in the village and near the church one finds "Domies Toen," Groningen dialect for "the pastor's garden." During two visits to this large garden, on 2-5-1995 and 8-5-1996, the author and his wife found several species of bees. See the original article for the list of bees that were collected then.
West Friesland is old compared to the rest of North Holland.
The dike mentioned in the title runs from Krabbendam to Sint
Maarten. One can find many species of bee there. The author was
convinced that they've been there a long time. The most
interesting part of the dike for bees and wasps is from the
southern exit, Eenigenburg, to Burgerwielen. This is due to sheep
and mowers keeping the vegetation low.
See the original article for the list of bees and spider wasps
that were collected there.
This article is an account of the excursion to the Bergerheide (Maas dunes) on 1 July 1995. See the original article for table 1, the list of hymenoptera families, and table 2, the list of species collected on that day. The only flowers that were reported visited by hymenoptera were Frangula alnus and Rubus fruticosus, both of which are important sources of nectar and pollen at that time of year. More bees were collected around the Meeuwenven ("Seagull Pool"), possibly due to the presence of old, fallow fields where chamomile, thistles, yarrow and ragwort were blooming. It is interesting to note that more than 40% of the species of spider wasps that occur in the Netherlands were found here, and that the following hymenoptera were found (being either rarities, or usually found in the coastal dunes): Arachnospila alvarabnormis, A. virgilabnormis, A. westerlundi, Podalonia luffii, Pterocheilus phaleratus, Tachysphex panzeri, Megachile leachella en M. maritima.
By Hans Nieuwenhuijsen
[Three spider wasps from
Schoorl: original page in Dutch]
Following in the footsteps of Virgilius Lefeber, who had collected hymenoptera in and near the coastal village of Schoorl, the author discusses three rare spider wasps found in North Holland: Anoplius nigerrimus, Dipogon bifasciatus and Episyron albonotatum. Some of the information presented follows.
(NB: The title of this article is a play on words, combining the thoughts "is sitting pretty" and "got rammed" in one.) Virgilius Lefeber has a few favorite spots in South Limburg that he visits to collect aculeata, for example Sint Pietersberg, the ENCI quarry, Bemelerberg, Simpelveld and the Shiepersberg near the village Cadier en Keer. This last-mentioned place, previously a quarry, used to be a favorite of Virgilius. Alas, no longer. The sign that read, "Watch out for rams" was systematically ignored, because the rams always turned out to be tame sheep. Until that one day in 1992 that a real ram showed its face (or horns). The result: a broken rib, a bruised hip and hand. The Shiepersberg no more! Luckily there are plenty of other places in South Limburg, that's why we say he's sitting pretty there (but got rammed, nonetheless).
New names thought up by Virgilius Lefeber
By Theo M.J. Peeters
Instead of giving a summary of this article, I would like to mention the fact that several of us are compiling a list of all common names of aculeata occurring in the Netherlands. For the sake of completion, it would be nice to add the British, German and Belgian (bilingual) equivalents of these common names. If such a list already exists in your own language, please share it with us. I would be glad share ours with you. In time this project could appear here as one or more pages.
Most flowering plants are visited by insects. Some more than others. One of the top scorers is sheepsbit, Jasione montana. We took a look at the fauna that visited this plant with help from Crypta, a database for insect-plant relationships. The database covers literature from most of western Europe (from Oslo to the Loire and from Ireland to Germany). Apparently 291 species of insect visit sheepsbit. If you refer back to the table on the original page in Dutch you will see that the plant is visited, in descending order, by Apoidea, Aculeata, Lepidoptera, Diptera and Coleoptera. Aculeata are probably strongly attracted to sheepsbit partly due to the shared choice of habitat: open, dry and sandy terrains.
Chelostoma rapunculi is found spread out over most of Europe. It is active from the middle of May to the middle of August. There is one generation per year, it is specialized in bellflowers (Campanula) and nests in available holes in dead wood and trap nests. The author made nest blocks (100 x 28 x 19 mm) from pine wood and drilled holes of 4.5, 5.5 and 6.5 mm diameter. He split the nests lengthwise (through the holes) so that the nests could be opened, inspected and photographed. The nests were held together with clamps and hung up outdoors. The conclusions of the author are that Chelostoma rapunculi preferred holes of 4.5 and 5.5 mm diameter. The observed mortality (19%) was much lower than that reported by Brechtel (1986) who used nests made of plexiglass (mortality: 70%). The development from egg to cocoon took longer than reported by Brechtel. The cells was slightly longer by males than by females. The males come out 9 to 14 days earlier than the females.
A possible paraphrase of this poem would be:
The beast that I stuck with a pin, insect I spied upon, while a
longing for knowledge struck me, it was an obsession that
abducted you. Goodbye unstained beauty, six little kicking limbs,
two antennae so soft, your larva was cursed often without cause.
I saw you frolicking in the light, and land on that white sheet,
suddenly a white face appeared and made an end to your joy.
You'll wind up quickly behind glass, with many others of your
genus, who, quickly killed in stinking gas, discovered too late
that they were in trouble. Oh pure and innocent beast, with
paralyzed mind and limbs,who was the evil and cruel one, who was
that monster without reason? Now your beauty is forever stilled,
for the benefit of a few knowledge-freaks, this insect blood was
spilled, and you wind up adorning a drawer. Innocent animal,
innocent beast: Your death brought joy to us.
B.V.L.
Please refer to the original page for a list of publications written by Virgilius Lefeber over a period of 40 years. The articles fit three categories: That of the teacher (educational stories), the collector (about interesting finds, catches and cultivations) and the field biologist and coordinator of the European Invertebrate Survey - The Netherlands (lists of species collected in various biotopes or in certain area of the Netherlands and Belgium). The author considers the following works to be the high points of Virgilius Lefeber's publications: The first part of the Sphecid wasp atlas (1979), the description of the chrysid wasp Hedychridium mosadunense (1986) and the atlas of the spider wasps (1988), written with Peter van Ooijen. The crown to his life's work would be the publication of the "Distribution atlas of the bees, wasps and ants in the Netherlands." Let us hope that he lives to see the publication of this atlas.
If one wishes to compare data concerning ecotopes with similar data from neighboring countries it will be necessary to use similar systems of coding. This presents many difficulties, one of which is the use of the word "habitat" to cover both terms "habitat" and "niche" in some Dutch articles. See, for example the article of Nieuwenhuijsen and Wiering (1996a). To prevent confusion, the terms habitat and niche should be used separately. Habitat is the place of residence and niche is the "work," all the activities aimed at the survival and reproduction of the organism, such as searching for food, choice of prey, nest building,care for the brood, etc. A habitat is visible to the eye, a niche is an abstraction, made up of many dimensions. Therefore a particular niche cannot be summarized in one descriptive word. An ecological niche is usually very characteristic for a species, whereas several species could live together in a single habitat. The author uses the aculeata Hoplitis spinulosa, Dolichusus corniculus and Ampulex fasciata as examples to further explain these distinctions.
A continuation of the discussion that was started in Bzz nr. 1. It concerns two questions. How can you most accurately describe the biology of a species? Otherwise stated, how does one accurately describe the niche of a species? And, how does one accurately describe the biodiversity of a community of aculeates in a particular biotope?
Getting the name right: To be able to identify wasps and bees one needs identification keys (or literature), a magnifying glass, a dissecting microscope and possibly a reference collection (for comparison).
Good identification literature: At the moment there is no single book that can be used to identify all wasps or bees in the Netherlands. One has to pick and choose from books ranging from Schmiedeknecht (1930) to the series being published by Scheuchl et al (from 1995). See the original page in Dutch for a table of recommended identification literature.
Magnification: A magnifying glass with a power of 10X is necessary, but not sufficient. A dissecting microscope which magnifies to at least 40X is very useful in difficult cases.
A reference collection: If you are serious about studying wasps and bees it is a good idea to start up a reference collection, or at least to use a reference collection of someone else.
Literature: Refer to the original page in Dutch to see a list of books referred to on the previous page or otherwise used to identify wasps and bees in the Netherlands.
This is a list of Latin names of species found in the Netherlands and some of the corresponding Dutch names. This HTML table is also available as an XML file without styling and as an XML file with XSL styling. Take a look at our XSL-file. Thanks to the XML Forum at Tek-Tips we also have a compact XSL stylesheet. There is also an RDF version of this list.
Evans, H.E. & K.M. O'Neill, 2007. The sand wasps. Natural history and behavior. - Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 240 p. ISBN-10: 0-674-02462-1. Prijs: € 42, excluding postage.
By Theo Peeters
[The Sand Wasps: original page in
Dutch]
A somewhat disappointing book.
Smit, J., 2008. Uitgerangeerd. 20 years of research on the bees and wasps near Westervoort. - Private publication, Duiven, 41 p. For sale from the writer.
By Theo Peeters
[Uitgerangeerd: original page in
Dutch]
Nice in-depth study of a terrain by J. Smit.
Calle, L. & Ch. Jacobusse (red.), 2008. Bijen en wespen in Zeeland; Fauna Zeelandica deel 4, Het Zeeuwse Landschap, Wilhelminadorp, 191 p. Price € 29,90. Special for members of the section: € 25,- including delivery. To order by depositing 25 euro at bank account 5103.36.167 in the name of Het Zeeuwse Landschap at Heinkenszand, memo "Bijen en wespenatlas".
By Jan Smit
[Bijen en wespen in Zeeland: original page in
Dutch]
Good work by the most active hymenoptera group in the country.
Kleukers, R., M. Berg & W. van Strien (red.) 2008. Passie voor kleine beestjes, 33.3 years of Stichting EIS-Nederland. EIS-Nederland 90p. To order: www.naturalis.nl/EIS € 10,-
By Erik van der Spek
[Passie voor kleine beestjes: original page in
Dutch]
A nice little book. Great as a gift to inspire others.
Various publications
By Hans Nieuwenhuijsen
[Recente Engelse Hymenoptera-publicaties: original page in
Dutch]
Praise for publications from England. The Dutch hymenopterists have more contact with German colleagues than with others. So any news about and from English colleagues is welcome.
Number 2 bis in the third year of Bertram, the magazine of the Nature Study Work Group of the JNM in België
By Theo Peeters
[Determinatietabel Voor Solitaire Bijen: original page in
Dutch]
A nice way to attract young people to the study of hymenoptera.
The diversity of bees and flowering plants in the Netherlands and England has declined the past 25 years. (Science, 21 juli). See a The diversity of bees and flowering plants: summary (pdf) in "Science," or the The diversity of bees and flowering plants: original article (pdf).
For the first time knowledge about wasps and ants in the Netherlands is bundled in one book. This provides an impressive view of the biology, ecology and distribution of these insects. Twelve chapters deal with the following topics, amongst others: nest building, hunting behavior, reproduction, parasitism, the evolution of social behavior, conservation and an identification key for all genera in the Netherlands.
"De Wespen en Mieren van Nederland"
Authors: Peeters, T.M.J. , Achterberg, C. van , Heitmans, W.R.B., et. al.
Pages: 496
Price 64.95 euro
ISBN: 90-5011-174-2
Theo Peeters
april 2004
[Competition between honeybees and other bees: original page in Dutch]
A short discussion of the topic. Conclusion: not enough data.
This is the first in a series of publications concerning a surveys of and research into the bees (and eventually wasps) of different terrains of the Dutch conservation group, Natuurmonumenten ("Nature Monuments"). The research is based on old surveys up to 1980.See the table on the page "Wild bees" for a list of terrains with the largest number of threatened species of bees. Of the 338 species of bees known in the Netherlands, 198 are placed on the list of threatened species. For more information see Threatened bees in the Netherlands, below.
Do honeybees compete with wild bees? Possibly. Which biotopes contain many threatened species? The general qualities of important biotopes are: open, full of flowers, dry and varied. The biotopes themselves are: dry, herbaceous vegetations, poor and bare ground, dry heather, drift sand, coastal and river dunes and quarries. Some very important rare species of bee can be found in coastal biotopes like salt marshes and dunes. Which families of plants are important to bees? Asteraceae, Apiaceae, Brassicaceae, Fabaceae and Lamiaceae. Which genera of plants are especially important? Campanula, Centaurea, Echium, Jasione montana, Lotus, Potentilla, Rubus, Salix, Taraxacum and Trifolium.
See also First aid for wild bees, below.
By Theo Peeters and Menno Reemer
[Bee fauna and administration of seven
territories of Natuurmonumenten: original page in
Dutch]
In 1999 and 2000 members of the European Invertebrate Survey - Netherlands participated in a field study of the wild bee fauna of seven territories of Natuurmonumenten: Dwingelderveld, Huis ter Heide, the Korenburgerveen, the Loonse and Drunense dunes, the Naardermeer (Naarder lake), quarry Sweijer en National Park Zuid-Kennemerland. The results of the inventories of each territory are discussed in this report and, based on these results, advice is given concerning the administration of nature reserve territories for the benefit of wild bees.
Concerning the territories, themselves:
This territory contained the largest percentage threatened species of all the territories studied (13 out of 55 = 24%). This shows that this is an important territory for bees. Alas, in some places which were important for wild bees, there were also many honeybees, from beehives nearby. These hives should be placed farther away and their number reduced.
Of the 73 species of bee found here 10 are threatened. This is a large percentage and good news for a territory which has only recently bee administered as a nature reserve. The change from agricultural land to heather and grassland, one of the goals of design plan "Lobelia," should have a good effect on bee fauna.
The low number of bee species found here, 36, is probably due to a lack of nesting places. This is a peat bog; there is little dry ground and there is little that can be done about this fact. There are some other possibilities, though. Dead wood and uprooted trees and roots can be left to lie. Limitations on mowing and on the grazing of cattle could benefit flowering plants.
This territory has been one of the best studied for many years now. In 1999 and 2000 we found 60 species of bee which brings the total for this territory to 122. The bees in the area of the drifting sands are characteristic, but vulnerable. Beehives should not be allowed here. Nesting places for species that nest in wood is barely present. There are also few flowers present. Turning nearby agricultural land into poor grassland and meadowland could help. Old heather is disappearing. This could be prevented by scraping.
58 species of bee were found during the inventory, bring the total to 74 species. The most important step that could be made would be to develop grasslands and meadowlands, rich in flowers, along the borders of the Naardermeer. That means changing mowing and grazing patterns.
37 species of bees were found during the inventory, which is not much compared to the 109 species registered there. This could be due to inaccuracies in coördinates being given for identified bees. On the other hand, the large number could mean that quarry Sweijer is potentially very interesting for bees. One way to improve the territory would consist of scraping.
33 species were found during the inventory, raising the total number to 44. This is not much for dunes. This may be due to a lack of flowers, for there was more than enough nesting places. The lack of flowers may be due to a lack of dynamics in the territory. Grazing seems to have a positive effect on flowering plants and therefore on bees.
Two table give statistics on the number of bees found over the years and during the inventory in the various territories and the percentage of threatened bees among them. This is covered in prose form on the previous page (above). Concerning further research, it would be wise to see what effect the various bits of advice - if followed - have on the bee populations. In Dwingelderveld it would be nice to look at the effects of reducing the number of beehives in the area. Huis ter Heide is interesting to follow due to developments brought about by plan Lobelia. Too little is known about the effect of scraping on bee fauna. It would be nice to pay some attention to this, say in the Loonse and Drunense dunes.
By Theo Peeters and Menno Reemer
[Bees and Sphecid wasps in six
territories of Natuurmonumenten: original page in
Dutch]
This report is a follow-up of the previous one, above, "Bee fauna
and administration." In 2002 members of European Invertebrate
Survey - The Netherlands did a field study of the bees and
sphecid wasps in the following territories of Natuurmonumenten:
the Kampina, the Maasuiterwaarden (river foreland) near Den
Bosch, Planken Wambuis, the Plateaux, Voornes dunes and the Zeepe
dunes. The results of the inventories of each territory are
discussed in this report and, based on these results, advice is
given concerning the administration of nature reserve territories
for the benefit of wild bees and sphecid wasps.
Concerning the territories, themselves:
Although there are many species of bee and sphecid wasp in the Kampina (104 and 46 resp.), probably due to the variations in terrain, some important species have disappeared. Important changes would be the removal plantations of evergreen trees, prevention of the dessication of heather terrains, small-scale scraping of heather being overrun by grasses, and fased mowing and grazing.
With 53 species of bee and 23 species of sphecid wasp, this territory is not very rich, but it has potential. This could be improved by felling trees along sunny, steep slopes, by fased mowing and grazing and by increasing the freedom of movement of the river.
With a total of 55 species of bee and 39 species of sphecid wasp, it was apparent that there weren't many rare species, but the fauna was typical for a habitat that is under pressure in the Netherlands due to heather and sand being edged out by grass. A few suggestions: fased mowing of fallow fields and roadsides/verges and countermeasures against the grass and moss which is covering the drift sand.
78 species of bee and 43 species of sphecid wasps were found in 2002. This qualifies as rich in species, due to the alternations of dry and wet terrains. 10 of the bees are on the Red List of threatened species. The fencing off of certain forest edges,to prevent grazing, could help create more flowering plants there.
A total of 47 species of bee and 29 species of sphecid wasp were found here. Three species appear on the Red List; two of these are typical for dune habitats. There were no specific bits of advice concerning administration, but in the future any new advice will have to take the Red List species into account.
49 species of bee an 26 species of sphecid wasp were found in 2002. Three species are found on the Red List, among them Megachile maritima, and exceptional species. Flowering plants can be aided by mowing in September and removing the mowed plants.
A few of the differences between bees and sphecid wasps are: The larva of bees are vegetarian, the larva of wasps are meat eaters; bees have tongues of various lengths, wasps usually have short tongues; and while there are many species of parasitic bee, there are very few species of parasitic sphecid wasp.
Bees are insects that like dry terrains with many flowers, laid out in a mosaic pattern of many different habitats that are all short distances from each other. In the past, small was not only beautiful, but also present. But many small-scale landscape elements have disappeared: old buildings plastered with loam, wooded banks, poles in the pastures. There is also a lack of grassland and meadow that are rich in flowers. Here follow some suggestions about administration.
Similar to bees, sphecid wasps prefer warm, varied terrain with small landscape elements that offer nesting places. Unlike bees, sphecid wasps also do well in very warm or dry biotopes, like dunes and quarries, and in old forests. The suggestions mentioned above apply also to sphecid wasps. But because these wasps are less dependent upon particular flowers, the suggestions concerning flowers can be somewhat relaxed when concerning sphecid wasps.
This folder explains what one can do to protect wild bees in nature reserves. The best idea is to provide many flowers and a sunny nesting place in combination with a varied landscape. A few tips:
Old wooden poles are a good nesting place. Don't remove old ones and don't use new ones that have been chemically treated. Pruning bramble and elder creates nesting places in the pith of the branches and twigs. Sand paths should not be covered with gravel, wood chips or asphalt. Try to preserve steep sand walls and cliffs. Creating bare ground by scraping can be helpful. Protect existing nesting places from being trampled on. Do not cut some reeds more often than once in every three or four years.
Either do not mow or do so only partially in the period of end of April to the beginning of September. Do not mow important flowering plants before or during their period of bloom. Limit the grazing of cattle. Scraping (to give some plants a chance) is here, too, a good option. For a short list of important plant genera and species, see Wild bees in territories of Natuurmonumenten, above.
This report contains a proposal for the Red List of Dutch bees (Apidae s.l.), compiled by the European Invertebrate Survey - the Netherlands at the request of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries. The Red List status of all Dutch bee species is assessed by applying standardized criteria for rarity and trend. Rarity is determined by the number of 5x5 km-squares in which a species has been found in the period 1970-2001 (recent period). The trend is assessed by comparing the status in the recent period with the status in the period before 1970 (reference period).
Of the total number of 338 bee species known from the Netherlands, 188 (56%) are on the Red List in the following categories: disappeared (35 species), critically endangered (31 species), endangered (52 species), vulnerable (53 species), susceptible (17 species). A number of 16 species has not been considered, because of insufficient data or because the species is not indigenous.
For each species on the Red List, a brief account is given in which occurrence in the Netherlands, habitat, nesting sites, food plants and flight period are discussed.
In the discussion the Red List of bees is compared with Red Lists of other groups of flora and fauna in the Netherlands. This leads to the observation that bees seem to be more seriously threatened than most other groups. Possible causes for this are the decline in diversity and abundance of flowers, the decline of small scale habitat diversity, nutrification, habitat fragmentation and competition for food sources with honey bees. Eventually, some rules of thumb are given for nature management in favour of the bee fauna.
By Wim Klein
[The sphecid wasps of the
Benelux: Ectemnius: original page in Dutch]
This booklet is an series of identification keys. It is impossible to summarize this chapter. Only a translation would do, and that is beyond the scope of this section, "summaries." I will limit myself to saying that this chapter of the booklet concerns keys for the following 13 species of sphecid wasp found in the Benelux: Ectemnius borealis, E. cavifrons, E. cephalotes, E. continuus, E. dives, E. fossorius, E. guttatus, E. lapidarius, E. lituratus, E. nigritarsus, E. rubicola, E. ruficornis and E. sexcintus.
Information about hymenoptera, often in English.
The pop-up boxed descriptions of our photographs are in both Dutch and English. Long descriptions are present.
This page can be used to help to determine position under different European coördinate systems.
A discussion of the roles of databases, XML and RDF in taxonomy and insect collections.
Some frequently asked questions, ranging from "are solitary bees dangerous?" to "how can I kill wasps?"
Please see the Contact page for our email address. Feel free to email us in English, French or German.
design: r.broersma
last modified 1 2010