Yellow potter wasp (Delta campaniforme)

Yellow potter wasp (Delta campaniforme) is a species of animal in Vespidae, solitary wasp, shiny yellow, shiny black, dull black and brown with a yellow striped belly, a long and narrow waist, a nest built using mud and a circle attached to a cliff.

D. campaniforme has a black head with a yellow plot in the center and two transverse plots on the right and left. A pair of black eyes. A pair of antennas, long, yellow with a black base and tip.



The back is yellow and black. A large black plot semicircle at the top of the front. The two plots form a circular line at the top of the back. A pair of wings is brownish black and transparent.

The stomach has the shape of a water droplet, pointed tip, black with yellow and black segments, alternating to form stripes. Linear folds on the sides. The underside of the front is brown and large. The middle section has alternating yellow and black segments that form stripes.

The stomach and back are connected by a long, narrow, downward curved pipe. The front end is very narrow, getting bigger backwards and ending at the stomach slightly smaller. The top is brown, black and yellow. The bottom is brown all over.

The yellow potter wasp builds a pitcher-shaped mud cell in a location protected from the sun, wind and rain to lay eggs. The female collects moist mud around, forming small mud balls 2 mm in diameter, then transported by mouth and forelegs to the pot site.

The female looks for caterpillars among nearby plants, immobilizes and inserts into mud cells. Eggs are creamy yolk for 3 mm. The eggs hatch and the larvae eat the caterpillars. Males and females perch on the grass to rest after sunset.

PUBLICATIONS

Bequaert J., 1918. A Revision of the Vespidae of the Belgian Congo Based on the Collection of the American Museum Congo Expedition, With A List of Ethiopian Diplopterous Wasps. Bulletin A. M. N. H, Vol. 39: 2-384.

Bequaert, J. 1926. The genus Eumenes Latreille, in South Africa, with a revision of the Ethiopian species (Hymenoptera.) Annals of the South African Museum 23: 483–577.

Carpenter, J.M., J. Gusenleitner & M. Madl. 2010. A catalogue of the Eumeninae (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) of the Ethiopian Region excluding Malagasy Subregion. Part II: Genera Delta de Saussure 1885 to Zethus FABRICIUS 1804 and Species Incertae Sedis. Linzer Biologische Beiträge 42 (1): 95-315.

VERNACULAR NAME

Chinese (simplified): 铃华丽蜾蠃
Chinese (traditional): 原野華麗蜾蠃
English: Yellow potter wasp, Yellow-and-black potter wasp
Hong Kong: 原野華麗蜾蠃
Indonesia: Tawon kemit kuning
Java: Tawon kemit kuning
Macao: 原野華麗蜾蠃
Taiwan: 原野華麗蜾蠃

Aryo Bandoro
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