Nesting Biology of the Bumblebee Wolf Philanthus bicinctus Mickel (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae)

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Abstract
Females of the bumblebee wolf P. bicintus Mickel nest in large aggregations with each female digging and provisioning her own nest. When a nest is started, several days are spent digging the long entrance burrow, this activity taking place during the morning. Up to 11 cells are provisioned with an average of 4.8 bumblebees per cell. A single egg is placed in each cell. In 1976 and 1977 99% of prey were bumblebees, but in 1978 the percentage of bumblebee prey dropped to 39%. Females in 1978 also took longer to provision each cell. A possible cause of this was an increase in the number of wasps in 1978 and a decline in abundance of some bumblebee species. Despite the common occurrence of parasitic satellite flies (Sarcophagidae) following prey-laden females back to nests, few cells (7.5%) contained fly maggots.

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