European beewolf

European beewolf
A European beewolf
European beewolf paralysing a bee
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Philanthidae
Genus:	Philanthus
Species:	P. triangulum
Binomial name
Philanthus triangulum (Fabricius, 1775)
Synonyms[1]
Philanthus abdelcader Lepeletier, 1845 Philanthus allionii Dahlbom, 1845 Philanthus apivorus Latreille, 1799 Philanthus discolor Panzer, 1799 Philanthus pictus Panzer, 1797 Crabro androgynus Rossi, 1792 Philanthus ruspatrix (Linnaeus, 1767) Simblephilus triangulum (Fabricius, 1775) Sphex scutellatus subsp. maculatus Christ, 1791 Vespa fasciata Fourcroy, 1785 Vespa limbata Olivier, 1792 Vespa ruspatrix Linné, 1767 Vespa triangulum Fabricius, 1775

The European beewolf (Philanthus triangulum), also known as the bee-killer wasp or the bee-eating philanthus (from the now obsolete synonym Philanthus apivorus), is a solitary wasp that lives in the Western Palearctic and Afrotropics. Although the adults of the species are herbivores (feeding on nectar and pollen), the species derives its name from the behaviour of the inseminated females, who hunt Western honey bees. The female places several of its paralysed prey together with an egg in a small underground chamber, to serve as food for the wasp larvae. All members of the genus Philanthus hunt various species of bees, but P. triangulum is apparently the only one that specialises in Western honey bees.