About Pelecinus polyturator (Drury)
Pelecinus polyturator (Drury) is a wasp species belonging to the family Pelecinidae. This species includes large, glossy black insects that can reach up to 7 centimeters in length, and they are the most common and well-known members of their family. Adult individuals of this species drink nectar, and they inhabit crop fields, woodlands, and suburban gardens across North America, Central America, and South America. Members of this species have long antennae, and females have an elongated, cylindrical, articulated metasoma. Pelecinus polyturator are parasitoids, and they lay their eggs directly into the soil-buried grubs of June beetles of the genus Phyllophaga. Adult Pelecinus polyturator can be encountered in late summer. Some populations of this species are parthenogenetic: females do not need fertilization by males to reproduce. Females are common across the entire range of the species. Males are rare in the United States and Canada, especially in some populations, and become more prevalent further south.
