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- ›Philanthinae
- ›Philanthini
- ›Philanthina

Beewolves
Philanthus
Beewolves (genus Philanthus), also known as bee-hunters or bee-killer wasps, are solitary, predatory wasps, most of which prey on bees, hence their common name. The adult females dig tunnels in the ground for nesting, while the territorial males mark twigs and other objects with pheromones to claim the territory from competing males.
As with all other apoid wasps, the larvae are carnivorous, forcing the inseminated females to hunt for other invertebrates (in this case bees), on which she lays her eggs, supplying the larvae with prey when they emerge. The adults consume nectar from flowers.
60 branches of this genus, most-observed first

European beewolf
speciesPhilanthus triangulum

Hump-backed Beewolf
speciesPhilanthus gibbosus

Philanthus crabroniformis
speciesPhilanthus crabroniformis

Two Moons Beewolf
speciesPhilanthus bilunatus

Flat-collared Beewolf
speciesPhilanthus ventilabris

Philanthus multimaculatus
speciesPhilanthus multimaculatus

Philanthus politus
speciesPhilanthus politus

Pleasant Beewolf
speciesPhilanthus lepidus

Sanborn's Beewolf
speciesPhilanthus sanbornii

Philanthus solivagus
speciesPhilanthus solivagus

Loefling's beewolf
speciesPhilanthus loeflingi

Philanthus pulchellus
speciesPhilanthus pulchellus

Philanthus coarctatus
speciesPhilanthus coarctatus

Philanthus histrio
speciesPhilanthus histrio

Crowned Beewolf
speciesPhilanthus coronatus

Philanthus pacificus
speciesPhilanthus pacificus

White-haired Beewolf
speciesPhilanthus albopilosus

Philanthus venustus
speciesPhilanthus venustus

Philanthus notatulus
speciesPhilanthus notatulus

Philanthus basalis
speciesPhilanthus basalis

Philanthus pallidus
speciesPhilanthus pallidus

Philanthus gloriosus
speciesPhilanthus gloriosus

Philanthus zebratus
speciesPhilanthus zebratus

Philanthus ventralis
speciesPhilanthus ventralis

Bumble Bee Wolf
speciesPhilanthus bicinctus

Philanthus decemmaculatus
speciesPhilanthus decemmaculatus

Antioch Sphecid Wasp
speciesPhilanthus nasalis

Philanthus rugosus
speciesPhilanthus rugosus

Philanthus depredator
speciesPhilanthus depredator

Philanthus nepalensis
speciesPhilanthus nepalensis

Philanthus pulcherrimus
speciesPhilanthus pulcherrimus

Philanthus dufourii
speciesPhilanthus dufourii

Philanthus variegatus
speciesPhilanthus variegatus

Philanthus psyche
speciesPhilanthus psyche

Philanthus inversus
speciesPhilanthus inversus
Philanthus genalis
speciesPhilanthus genalis
Philanthus pulcher
speciesPhilanthus pulcher
Philanthus manuelito
speciesPhilanthus manuelito
Michelbacher's beewolf
speciesPhilanthus michelbacheri
Philanthus sculpturatus
speciesPhilanthus sculpturatus
Philanthus fuscipennis
speciesPhilanthus fuscipennis
Philanthus capensis
speciesPhilanthus capensis
Philanthus major
speciesPhilanthus major
Philanthus melanderi
speciesPhilanthus melanderi
Philanthus namaqua
speciesPhilanthus namaqua
Philanthus natalensis
speciesPhilanthus natalensis
Philanthus oraniensis
speciesPhilanthus oraniensis
Philanthus pilifrons
speciesPhilanthus pilifrons
Philanthus promontorii
speciesPhilanthus promontorii
Philanthus strigulosus
speciesPhilanthus strigulosus
Philanthus turneri
speciesPhilanthus turneri
Philanthus barbatus
speciesPhilanthus barbatus
Philanthus tarsatus
speciesPhilanthus tarsatus
Philanthus basilewskyi
speciesPhilanthus basilewskyi
Philanthus bilineatus
speciesPhilanthus bilineatus
Philanthus bimacula
speciesPhilanthus bimacula
Philanthus boharti
speciesPhilanthus boharti
Philanthus bredoi
speciesPhilanthus bredoi
Philanthus brevicornis
speciesPhilanthus brevicornis
Philanthus bucephalus
speciesPhilanthus bucephalus
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Philanthus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 56893.