About Odynerus spinipes (Linnaeus, 1758)
Odynerus spinipes, commonly known as the spiny mason wasp, is a species of potter wasp native to western Europe. It is the type species of the genus Odynerus, and was first formally described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his landmark work Systema Naturae, published in 1758.
The distribution of Odynerus spinipes ranges across northwestern Europe and Scandinavia, extending as far north as central Sweden and as far south as the Alps and southern France. There is also a single recorded occurrence of this species in Kazakhstan. In Great Britain, it can be found as far north as southern Scotland, but there are very few records of it from Ireland. Odynerus spinipes is currently thought to be extirpated from Scotland.
This wasp species prefers open habitats and scrub. In Essex, England, most recorded observations of Odynerus spinipes have taken place in post-industrial sites.
