Chalybion

{{Short description|Genus of wasps}} {{Italic title}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = ''Chalybion'' | image = Chalybion japonicum.jpg | image_caption = ''Chalybion japonicum'' | display_parents = 2 | taxon = Chalybion | authority = Dahlbom, 1843 | type_species = ''Chalybion californicum'' | type_species_authority = (Saussure, 1867) | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = {{center|54 extant + 1 extinct species}} | synonyms_ref=<ref name=Pulawski/> | synonyms =''Chalybium'' <small>Agassiz, 1846</small> }}

'''''Chalybion''''', also known as '''blue mud-dauber wasps''', is a genus of wasp in the family Sphecidae.<ref name=Ohl2011/> The species often nest in old, abandoned mud nests of other species and in pre-existing cavities.

==Taxonomy and phylogeny== ''Chalybion'' was originally described as a genus by Dahlbom in 1843. Kohl demoted ''Chalybion'' to a subgenus of ''Sceliphron'' in 1918 and established ''Hemichalybion'' as a sister subgenus of ''Sceliphron''. Both ''Chalybion'' and ''Hemichalybion'' were elevated to genus status by Bohart and Menke in 1963. The same authors then demoted ''Hemichalybion'' to a subgenus of ''Chalybion'' in 1976.<ref name=Hensen1988/>

==Distribution and habitat== ''Chalybion'' species are present in all continents except for Antarctica though are most common in the Nearctic<ref name=Krombein1979/> and Paleotropic regions.<ref name=Fateryga2020/>

==Behavior== Females of ''Chalybion'' species nest in a wide range of natural or artificial pre-existing cavities, such as holes in stone,<ref name=Selvamurugan/> wood, in walls, and in plant stems.<ref name=Krombein1979/> They also reuse old mud nests of other wasps, including those of ''Trypoxylon'', ''Sceliphron'',<ref name=Bohart1976/> Eumeninae,<ref name=LeDiveLec2024/> and Ageniellini,<ref name=Pham2019/> or old mud nests of bees.<ref name=Mei2016/>

''C. californicum'' in particular is known for repurposing old nests of ''Sceliphron caementarium''.<ref name=Hensen1988/> The females then hunt and paralyze spiders, particularly of the families Araneidae and Theridiidae, which they use as provisions their brood cells.<ref name=Bohart1976/>

==Interaction with other species== The nests of ''Chalybion'' may, themselves, be repurposed by other mud-nesting wasps, such as Eumeninae.<ref name=Fateryga2020/>

==Species== There are 54 described living species of ''Chalybion'':<ref name=Hensen1988/><ref name=Pulawski/><!--- Pulawskiincludes a typo in skipping from 16 to 18, incorrectly showing a total of 55. --->

{{div col| colwidth = 25em}} ===Subgenus ''Chalybion (Chalybion)'' <small>Agassiz, 1846</small>=== * ''Chalybion fuscum'' <small>(Lepeletier, 1845) (Madagascar, Sri Lanka)</small> * ''Chalybion ohli'' <small>Dollfuss, 2016</small> * ''Chalybion yangi'' <small>Li, 1995</small>

====''Chalybion bengalense'' species-group==== * ''Chalybion bengalense'' <small>(Dahlbom, 1845) (Hawaii, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Socotra, South Africa; introduced in Italy</small><ref name=Mei2012/>) * ''Chalybion clarebaltazarae'' <small>Abenis & Lit, 2020</small> * ''Chalybion flebile'' <small>(Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau, 1845)</small> * ''Chalybion japonicum'' <small>(Gribodo, 1880) (China, Japan, Ryukyu Islands, South Korea, Tanzania, Thailand)</small> * ''Chalybion klapperichi'' <small>(Balthasar, 1957)</small> * ''Chalybion minos'' <small>(de Beaumont, 1965)</small> * ''Chalybion omissum'' <small>(Kohl, 1889)</small> * ''Chalybion petroleum'' <small>Hensen, 1988</small> * ''Chalybion saudiarabicum'' <small>Schmid-Egger, 2025</small> * ''Chalybion stephenreyesi'' <small>Abenis & Lit, 2020</small> * ''Chalybion turanicum'' <small>(Gussakovskij, 1935)</small> * ''Chalybion vechti'' <small>Hensen, 1988</small> * ''Chalybion walteri'' <small>(Kohl, 1889)</small> * ''Chalybion zimmermanni'' <small>Dahlbom, 1843 (North America)</small> ** ''Chalybion zimmermanni zimmermanni'' <small>Dahlbom, 1843</small> ** ''Chalybion zimmermanni aztecum'' <small>(de Saussure, 1867)</small> ** ''Chalybion zimmermanni peninsulare'' <small>R. Bohart and Menke, 1963</small>

====''Chalybion californicum'' species-group==== * ''Chalybion californicum'' <small>(de Saussure, 1867) (North America; introduced in Croatia</small><ref name=Mei2016/>)

====''Chalybion fabricator'' species-group==== * ''Chalybion accline'' <small>(Kohl, 1918)</small> * ''Chalybion fabricator'' <small>(F. Smith, 1860)</small> * ''Chalybion hainanense'' <small>Terayama & Tano, 2018</small> * ''Chalybion lividum'' <small>Hensen, 1988</small> * ''Chalybion magnum'' <small>Hensen, 1988</small> * ''Chalybion malignum'' <small>(Kohl, 1906)</small> * ''Chalybion sulawesii'' <small>Ohl & Höhn, 2011</small><ref name=Ohl2011/> * ''Chalybion tanvinhense'' <small>Pham, Ohl, & Truong, 2019</small><ref name=Pham2019/>

====''Chalybion gredleri'' species-group==== * ''Chalybion gredleri'' <small>(Kohl, 1918) (Democratic Republic of Congo)</small> * ''Chalybion triangulum'' <small>Hensen, 1988 (Central African Republic, Gambia, Togo)</small>

====''Chalybion incisum'' species-group==== * ''Chalybion incisum'' <small>Hensen, 1988</small>

====''Chalybion madecassum'' species-group==== * ''Chalybion bonneti'' <small>Leclercq, 1966 (Madagascar)</small> * ''Chalybion dolichothorax'' <small>(Kohl, 1918)</small> * ''Chalybion frontale'' <small>(Kohl, 1906)</small> * ''Chalybion gracile'' <small>Hensen, 1988</small> * ''Chalybion iridescens'' <small>Pham & Ohl, 2025</small> * ''Chalybion madecassum'' <small>(Gribodo, 1883) (Madagascar, Seychelles Islands)</small> * ''Chalybion polyphemus'' <small>Hensen, 1988</small>

====''Chalybion tibiale'' species-group==== * ''Chalybion ammophiloides'' <small>Hensen, 1988</small> * ''Chalybion bocandei'' <small>(Spinola, 1851)</small> ** ''Chalybion bocandei bocandei'' <small>(Spinola, 1851) (Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Sierre Leone)</small> ** ''Chalybion bocandei aeronitens'' <small>Hensen, 1988 (Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo)</small> * ''Chalybion heinii'' <small>(Kohl, 1906)</small> * ''Chalybion henseni'' <small>Schmid-Egger, 2025</small> * ''Chalybion kenyae'' <small>Hensen, 1988 (Kenya)</small> * ''Chalybion laevigatum'' <small>(Kohl, 1888) (Botswana, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zanzibar)</small> * ''Chalybion mochii'' <small>Hensen, 1988 (Kenya)</small> * ''Chalybion parvulum'' <small>Hensen, 1988 (Kenya)</small> * ''Chalybion planatum'' <small>(Arnold, 1951) (Ethiopia)</small> * ''Chalybion ruficorne'' <small>Hensen, 1988 (Central African Republic)</small> * ''Chalybion schulthessirechbergi'' <small>(Kohl, 1918) (Democratic Republic of Congo)</small> * ''Chalybion sommereni'' <small>(R.Turner, 1920) (Angola, Kenya, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo)</small> * ''Chalybion tibiale'' <small>(Fabricius, 1781) (South Africa)</small> * ''Chalybion tomentosum'' <small>Hensen, 1988</small>

===Subgenus ''Chalybion (Hemichalybion)'' <small>Kohl, 1918</small>=== ====''Chalybion spinolae'' species-group==== * ''Chalybion clypeatum'' <small>(Fairmaire, 1858) (Angola, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Gabon, Mozambique, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo)</small> ** ''Chalybion clypeatum clypeatum'' <small>(Fairmaire, 1858)</small> ** ''Chalybion clypeatum lusingi'' <small>(Leclercq, 1955) (Democratic Republic of Congo)</small> ** ''Chalybion clypeatum kiloensis'' <small>(Leclercq, 1955) (Democratic Republic of Congo)</small> * ''Chalybion spinolae'' <small>(Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau, 1845)</small> **''Chalybion spinolae spinolae'' <small>(Lepeletier, 1845) (Ethiopia, South Africa, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo)</small> ** ''Chalybion spinolae rufopictum'' <small>(Magretti, 1884) (Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali)</small> ** ''Chalybion spinolae saussurei'' <small>(Kohl, 1918) (South Africa)</small> * ''Chalybion sumatranum'' <small>(Kohl, 1884)</small>

====''Chalybion femoratum'' species-group==== * ''Chalybion femoratum'' <small>(Fabricius, 1781)</small><ref name=Tormos2006/>

{{div col end}}

==Extinct species== There is one described fossil species of ''Chalybion'':<ref name=Pulawski/> * ''Chalybion mortuum'' <small>Cockerell, 1907</small>

==See also== * Black-and-yellow mud-dauber wasps (''Sceliphron'') * Organ pipe mud dauber (''Trypoxylon politum'')

==Gallery== <gallery> Chalybion spinolae, Seringveld.jpg|''C. (Hemichalybion) spinolae'' in South Africa. Chalybion bengalense on a leaf.jpg|''C. (Chalybion) bengalense'' in India. Nearctic Blue Mud-dauber Wasp imported from iNaturalist photo 222892817 on 20 March 2024.jpg|''C. (Chalybion) californicum'' in North Carolina. Chalybion femoratum (533980087).jpg|''C. (Chalybion) femoratum'' in Italy. Chalybion sp. (Sphecidae, Sphecinae) - Flickr - gailhampshire (1).jpg|''C. (Chalybion) flebile'' in Spain. Chalybion japonicum.jpg|''C. (Chalybion) japonicum'' in Japan. Chalybion zimmermanni aztecum (47670246).jpg|''C. (Chalybion) zimmermanni aztecum'' in Texas. Chalybion zimmermanni zimmermanni (44481076).jpg|''C. (Chalybion) zimmermanni zimmermanni'' in Arkansas. </gallery>

==References== {{Commons category}} {{Reflist|refs=

<ref name=Bohart1976> {{cite book |last1=Bohart |first1=Richard |last2=Menke |first2=Arnold |year=1976 |title=Sphecid Wasps of the World - A Generic Revision | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_FExMjuRhjpIC/page/n101 98]-103 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-02318-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_FExMjuRhjpIC}} </ref>

<ref name=Pulawski> {{Cite web | accessdate = 2026-05-20 | title = ''Chalybion'' | website = Catalog of Sphecidae | last1 = Pulawski | first1 = Wojciech J. | date = 16 May 2026 | publisher = California Academy of Sciences | url = https://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/entomology/Entomology_Resources/Hymenoptera/sphecidae/genera/Chalybion.pdf}} </ref>

<ref name=Mei2012> {{cite journal |last1=Mei |first1=Maurizio |last2=Pezzi |first2=Giorgio |last3=De Togni |first3=Remo |last4=Devincenzo |first4=Umberto |date=2012 |title=The oriental mud-dauber wasp ''Chalybion bengalense'' (Dahlbom) introduced in Italy (Hymenoptera, Sphecidae) |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304717620 |journal=Ampulex |volume=5 |pages=37-41 |access-date=2017-07-31 }} </ref>

<ref name=Mei2016> {{cite journal |last1=Mei |first1=Maurizio |last2=Boščík |first2=Ivo |date=2016 |title=Evidence of the introduction into Europe of the Nearctic mud-dauber wasp ''Chalybion californicum'' (de Saussure) (Hymenoptera, Sphecidae) |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330467769 |journal= Boletín de la Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa |issue=58 |pages=239-240 |access-date=2019-10-21}} </ref>

<ref name=Tormos2006> {{cite journal |first1=Josè |last1=Tormos |first2=Carlo |last2=Polidori |first3=Josep Daniel |last3=Asís |year=2006 |title=Description of the prepupa of ''Chalybion femoratum'' (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae), with comments on larval characters in the genus |journal=The Florida Entomologist |volume=89 |issue=3 |pages=388–390 |jstor=4092437 |doi=10.1653/0015-4040(2006)89[388:DOTPOC]2.0.CO;2 |doi-access=free |hdl=2434/769719 |hdl-access=free }} </ref>

<ref name=Ohl2011> {{Cite journal |last1=Ohl |first1=Michael |last2=Höhn |first2=Patrick |date=2011-09-23 |title=Taxonomy, bionomics, and ecology of a new species of the blue mud-dauber wasp genus ''Chalybion'' from Sulawesi (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) |journal=Zoosystematics and Evolution |language=en |volume=87 |issue=2 |pages=335–348 |doi=10.1002/zoos.201100011 }}</ref>

<ref name=Pham2019> {{Cite journal |last1=Pham |first1=Phong Huy |last2=Ohl |first2=Michael |last3=Truong |first3=Lam Xuan |date=2019-12-19 |title=The genus ''Chalybion'' Dahlbom, 1843 (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) from Northwest Vietnam, with description of a new species |journal=Zootaxa |language=en |volume=4712 |issue=2 |doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4712.2.2 |pmid=32230684 |url=http://publication.plazi.org/id/A032FFB2BF1FFFF7FFF1FF948A73FFA8 }} </ref>

<ref name=Hensen1988> {{cite journal |last=Hensen |first=R.V. |date=1988 |title=Revision of the nominate subgenus ''Chalybion'' Dahlbom (Hymenoptera, Sphecidae) |journal=Tijdschrift voor Entomologie |volume=131 |pages=13-64}} </ref>

<ref name=Selvamurugan> {{cite journal |last=Selvamurugan |first=Selvaraj |date= |title=The New record of Zimmermann's mud wasp (''Chalybion zimmermanni'' Dahlbom, 1843) from India |url= |journal=Social Science Research Network Electronic Journal |volume= |issue= |pages= |doi=10.2139/ssrn.4624221}} </ref>

<ref name=Fateryga2020> {{cite journal |last1=Fateryga |first1=Alexander V. |last2=Kovblyuk |first2=Mykola M. |last3=Kvetkov |first3=Roman S. |date=2020 |title=The first data on the nesting biology of the invasive blue nest-renting wasp, ''Chalybion turanicum'' (Gussakovskij, 1935) (Hymenoptera, Sphecidae, Sceliphrinae) in the Crimea |journal=Acta Biologica Sibirica |volume=6 |pages=571–582 |doi=10.3897/abs.6.e57911 |doi-access=free}} </ref>

<ref name=LeDiveLec2024> {{cite journal |last=Le DiveLec |first=Romain |date=2024 |title=''Chalybion bengalense'' (Dahlbom, 1845), une nouvelle espèce exotique en France métropolitaine (Hymenoptera, Sphecidae) |url= |journal=Bulletin de la Société entomologique de France |volume=129 |issue=1 |pages=13-16 |doi=10.32475/bsef_2320}} </ref>

<ref name=Krombein1979> {{Cite web | accessdate = 2026-05-20 | editor-last1 = Krombein | editor-first1 = Karl V. | editor-last2 = Hurd Jr. | editor-first2 = Paul D. Jr. | editor-last3 = Smith | editor-first3 = David R. | editor-last4 = Burks | editor-first4 = B.D. | date = 1979 | title = Catalog of Hymenoptera in America North of Mexico |volume=2. Apocrita (Aculeata) | url = https://library.si.edu/digital-library/book/catalogofhymenop02krom | publisher = Smithsonian Institution Press}} </ref>

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Category:Sphecidae Category:Taxa named by Anders Gustaf Dahlbom Category:Apoidea genera