Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Bicyrtes variegatus
Avispa de la arena, Sand wasp
Bicyrtes variegatus is easily recognized by the yellow band across the anterior part of the scutellum (Bohart 1996).
This species was observed during the hot rainy season at Garrapatero Beach, forming an aggregation of males, called "sun dances" (Román et al., 2024). There are also records of visited plants: Bidens pilosa (cryptogenic), Croton scouleri (endemic), Galactia striata (native), Heliotropium angiospermum (native), Lantana camara (introduced), Mollugo flavescens (endemic), Scalesia cordata (endemic), Scalesia gordilloi (endemic), Vachellia rorudiana (native), Vallesia glabra (native), Varronia leucophlyctis (endemic), and Waltheria ovata (native).
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Hymenoptera
Suborder
Apocrita
Superfamily
Apoidea
Family
Crabronidae
Genus
Bicyrtes
Species
variegatus
Taxon category: Accepted
Origin: Cryptogenic
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
Distribution: Daphne major, Española, Fernandina, Floreana, Santa Cruz, Santiago, San Cristobal.
- Román, A.C., Picón-Rentería, P., Causton, C.E., Betancourt-Cargua, L., Frey, C., Herrera, H.W. (2024) Distribution of the sand wasp Bicyrtes variegatus (Oliver, 1789) (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae) in the Galápagos Islands, with notes on its ecology. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 97: 531–539. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.97.123966
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This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Bicyrtes variegatus", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=5594. Accessed 12 June 2025.