Small World Discoveries

HYMENOPTERA > SYMPHYTA > Cephidae > Cephini

Of the three Cephus species on the British List, only Cephus nigrinus can be readily identified from photos because of its all-black abdomen. Cephus pygmeus and Cephus spinipes both have yellow-banded black abdomens and are very similar in both size and general appearance and, as previously noted, are rather difficult to separate. Consequently, while my gut-feel here is Cephus pygmeus, there simply isn’t enough detail to be sure, or even to justify a cf. ‘likely’ designation, so best to leave this pair as unidentified. Having a male and female together in the same shot though is useful for future comparison.

Page created, July 21 (v.1)