Wing Venation Abnormalities in the Solitary Wasp Family Crabronidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera)

Insect wings are flexible structures composed of tubular veins and thin wing membranes. In many insect groups, wings contain distinct taxonomic characters which are easy to describe (e.g., the number and length of veins, the wing size, etc.). However, some insects may have abnormal specimens that have some veins or their parts missing, or to the contrary have additional veins on the wings. In this study, forewing abnormalities in 248 species of 53 solitary wasp genera belonging to the family Crabronidae (Hymenoptera) collected from Turkey were investigated for the first time. As a result, forewing abnormalities were detected in 37 species belonging to 18 genera from five subfamilies. In total, 20 cases of wing venation abnormalities, classified as: a) supernumerary veins, b) defective veins and c) supernumerary cells, were observed in 67 of 3244 specimens. The abnormalities were rather common in following three species Psammaecius punctulatus (Vander Linden, 1829) (n = 8, 11.94%), Bembix bidentata Vander Linden, 1829 (n = 6, 8.95%), and Bembecinus tridens (Fabricius, 1781) (n = 4, 7.46%). Nysson interruptus (Fabricius, 1798) and Nysson maculosus (Gmelin, 1790) are species with more than one abnormality on the same wing. Abnormalities were generally observed in males (n=50, 74.63%) rather than females (n=17, 25.37%). The mechanism of this phenomenon, which is thought to occur due to genetic, environmental or pathogenic reasons, has not yet been clarified in many insect groups, including Crabronidae.

Automated summary

This study investigates the forewing abnormalities in 248 species of solitary wasps belonging to the Crabronidae family collected from Turkey. The results show that abnormalities were detected in 37 species, including supernumerary veins, defective veins, and supernumerary cells. The abnormalities were more common in males than females, and the mechanism behind this phenomenon is not yet clear.