Species Profile Purbeck mason wasp (Pseudepipona herrichii)
Purbeck mason wasp © Chris Dresh (ARC).
Appearance/Colour Between 9 and 11 mm in length. Black with ivory stripes and two distinctive orange patches on the abdomen. Four white spots on the thorax. Legs are mostly orange. Short tongue.
Behaviour & Breeding Solitary wasp. Males emerge from their winter diapause in early summer with the females emerging shortly after. Flight period is from June to July where mating, feeding, collection of Heath Button Moth (Acleris hyemana) larvae and creation of nest burrows take place. Adults feed on nectar from Bell Heather (Erica cinerea) by biting a hole in the base of the flower. Once mated, the females begin excavating a shallow nest burrow in areas of bare ground containing 1-3 brood chambers within it. Each brood cell is filled with a dozen or more larvae of the heath button moth before an egg is laid and the cell is sealed. When the nest burrow is completed, the female will seal it with a plug of moistened clay so that it is perfectly camouflaged. The males die after about 10 days, leaving all the work of excavating and provisioning to the females. Nest burrows are distinctive with a circular entrance and a characteristic granular spoil heap of excavated soil deposited nearby.
Species Profile
Purbeck mason wasp © Chris Dresh (ARC).
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Habitat/Where to find them Heathland, rich in early- to midsuccession Bell Heather (Erica cinerea) featuring exposed ground with a clay content and close to open water. Restricted in Britain to a handful of heathland sites, such as ARC managed Creech heath, in and around Purbeck, Dorset. Feeding on nectar © Chris Dresh (ARC). Declines in numbers are linked to a reduction in the area of lowland Status heathland. In addition, land-use Endangered. changes on the remaining Species “of principal importance for the heathland has resulted in a purpose of conserving biodiversity” reduction in the number of suitable under Section 41 (England) of the bare areas for nesting and Natural Environment and Rural appropriate heather swards for the Communities Act 2006. moth caterpillars.
