A Monograph of Tachysphex Wasps of Africa and Adjacent Xeric Areas

9306812 Pulawski Tachysphex是一种地面筑巢的独居黄蜂属，除极地地区外，世界各地都有分布。雌性为它们的巢提供各种直立面昆虫，如蝗虫、蟑螂和螳螂。这些黄蜂种类中的大多数都很常见，特别是在干旱的土地上，因此是控制猎物数量水平的一个因素。与世界其他地区相比，非洲物种在很大程度上仍未被研究，但物种数量估计有200个，比世界上任何其他动物地理区域都要高。现有的出版物已经过时了(例如阿诺德，1923；1924)。它们不能反映这些黄蜂形态的现代知识水平，甚至不能识别/识别绝大多数个体物种。这种知识匮乏是所有动物名录、昆虫生物学研究和昆虫动物地理学研究中的一个明显障碍，并阻碍了使用速效吸虫进行生物防治的尝试。该项目的首席调查员(PI)将通过在非洲几个国家和马达加斯加的广泛收集工作，收集关于这些黄蜂的标本和行为/生物学信息。还将从几个博物馆的现有藏品中收集数据。国际和平协会已经为其他地区完成了关于该属成员的专题工作，这一非洲项目将有助于完成世界对该属的重大专题治疗。对一组独居的地面筑巢黄蜂进行的这一重大分类修订将有助于了解这些黄蜂的关系。它还将提供有关它们的筑巢行为和捕食偏好的信息，这可能对几种害虫蝗虫和蟑螂的生物防治和有害生物管理有用。***

9306812 Pulawski Tachysphex is a genus of ground nesting solitary wasps, occurring in all parts of the world except the polar regions. Females provide their nests with various orthopterous insects such as grasshoppers, cockroaches and mantids. Most of these wasp species are quite common, especially in arid lands, and are thus a factor in controlling population levels of their prey. In contrast to the other parts of the world, the African species remain largely unstudied, yet the number of species, an estimated 200, is higher than in any other zoogeographic region of the world. The available publications are outdated (e.g. Arnold, 1923; 1924). They do not reflect the modern level of knowledge of the morphology of these wasps and do not even allow recognition/identification of the vast majority of individual species. Such poor knowledge is a clear handicap in all faunal inventories, studies of insect biology and insect zoogeography and prevents attempted use of Tachysphex for biological control. The Principal Investigator (PI) in this project will collect both specimens and behavioral/biological information on these wasps through extensive collecting efforts in several countries in Africa and on Madagascar. Data will also be gathered from existing collections in several museums. The PI already done monographic work on members of this genus for other areas and this African project will contribute to completion of a major monographic treatment of the genus for the world. %%% This major taxonomic revision of a group of solitary ground nesting wasps will contribute to basic knowledge of relationships of these wasps. It will also provi de information on their nesting behavior and prey preferences which may be of utility in biological control and pest management of several pest grasshopper and cockroach species. ***