Poemenia albipes

Taxonomy

Poemenia albipes are parasitic wasps belonging to the family Ichneumonidae and the subfamily Poemeniinae. They are also known as the white-footed potter wasp. The species name "albipes" of P. albipes originates from Latin, meaning "white-footed," while the genus name "Poemenia" derives from Greek mythology, specifically referring to one of the Nereids, the sea nymphs. This could possibly be due to this wasp’s association with water or shoreline. They are distributed across much of North America, ranging from southern Canada down to Mexico and parts of Central America. Poemenia albipes was one of the more common Ichneumonid wasps in the Bee Atlas project, and was widely distributed throughout the state.

Description

Pomenia albipes are medium-sized Ichneumonid wasps with an average length of 10 to 15mm. The front wings have a small cell-like structure. Each of the second to fifth segments of the abdomen has two long blackish areas on its underside. The first abdominal segment is about 65% as long as the corresponding back segment. The lower part of the face, middle section, and abdomen are mostly black, while the bottom of the face, a part of the front of the thorax, and a small part near the base of the wings are white. The legs are usually thicker than other species and orangey-brown. 

Nest Structure

Like most Ichneumonids, Poemenia albipes do not build their own nests. Instead, they parasitize the nests of other insects. P. albipes is known to parasitize various types of caterpillars, particularly those of moths and butterflies. Poemenia albipes emerged from nests made by small resin wasps in the family Crabronidae in Bee Atlas blocks.

Hole Sizes

No information at this time.

Voltinism

This species appears to be univoltine throughout its range, completing one generation per year in Minnesota. 

Activity Period

No information at this time.

References

BugGuide.Net. (n.d.). Poemenia albipes (Cresson, 1865) - White-footed Potter Wasp. Retrieved from https://bugguide.net/node/view/450265

Discover Life. 2024. "Ichneumonidae." In Proceedings of the Ecological Society of America, vol. 6. Accessed May 30, 2024. https://www.discoverlife.org/proceedings/0000/6/html/Ichneumonidae.html

Khalaim, A. I., Ruíz-Cancino, E., & Coronado-Blanco, J. M. (2021). Darwin wasps of Mexico (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae): the subfamilies Acaenitinae, Poemeniinae and Xoridinae. Zoosystematica Rossica, 30(2), 303-319.

Thank you to John Luhman for identifying all of our Ichneumonid specimens.