Biosurveillance-potential
Guides
Cerceris californica
Cerceris californica is a solitary predatory wasp in the family Crabronidae. It occurs in Central America and North America. The species is a known predator of Buprestidae beetles (jewel beetles), paralyzing them with its sting to provision underground nests for its offspring. Like other members of the genus Cerceris, it exhibits prey specialization, though the full breadth of its prey preferences has not been extensively documented.
Cerceris halone
Cerceris halone is a solitary predatory wasp in the family Crabronidae, described by Banks in 1912. It occurs in Central America and North America. The species is a specialized predator of Curculionidae (weevil) beetles and nests in sandy substrates. Like other Cerceris species, it exhibits prey-specific hunting behavior, provisioning underground nests with paralyzed beetles for its larval offspring.
Cerceris occipitomaculata
Cerceris occipitomaculata is a solitary ground-nesting wasp in the family Crabronidae. Like other members of the genus Cerceris, it is a specialist predator that captures and paralyzes prey to provision underground nests for its offspring. The species is distributed across North America and Middle America. As with congeners, it likely exhibits prey specialization, though specific prey records for this species are not well documented in the available sources.
Cerceris verticalis
Cerceris verticalis is a solitary predatory wasp in the family Crabronidae. Like other members of the genus Cerceris, it constructs underground nests and provisions them with paralyzed insect prey for its larvae. The species was described by Frederick Smith in 1856 and occurs in North America and Middle America. As a member of the diverse genus Cerceris, it likely specializes on a particular prey group, though specific prey associations remain undocumented in the available sources.