Dr. Baaby Job

Taxonomic studies on the Spheciformes (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) of Kerala

Sphecids are solitary wasps, quick fliers and occupy diverse niches from natural habitats to manmade dwellings. 49 species of sphecids under 19 genera and three families- Ampulicidae, Sphecidae and Crabronidae were studied. A total of 92 places were visited for specimen collection and random sampling method was adopted. The collection method mainly employed was Sweep net. This was found to be the most successful and reliable method for collecting these conspicuous, brightly coloured wasps. In addition to this Rearing was also employed in which the mud nests collected were kept undisturbed in the lab. 35 species under 14 genera were collected from different parts of the state. Out of these 12 species were new to science and 3 species new record for the state. The diagnoses of 14 species under 5 genera were included from literature citations. Consequently 49 species of sphecid fauna coming under 19 genera was dealt with in this study. Detailed descriptions were given for new species, known species redescribed, dichotomous keys to subfamilies, genera and species as well as character data matrix for the genera which recorded the highest number of were prepared. In addition to this, distribution maps, graphical representation of species diversity and check list of sphecid fauna were also provided. Crabronidae represented the most diverse family with 31 species, forming 63% of the total species studied. Family Sphecidae contributed 29% of sphecid population with 14 species. Family Ampulicidae were represented by 4 species and formed 8% of the total sphecid population. The highest species diversity was shown by Palakkad district with records of nineteen species. This was followed by Ernakulam and Malappuram with records of eighteen species each. The whole study had been successful in bringing out the taxonomic information on these lesser known groups of Kerala