Ammophila cleopatra Menke 1964. Another transcontinental species, Ammophila cleopatra is primarily found in the western and montane regions of North America (Krombein 1979), but in Michigan it is apparently restricted to dune areas bordering Lake Michigan.
BIOLOGY: A. cleopatra has been found near areas where young oaks have taken hold on stabilized dunes and near the peripheries of blowouts at Warren Dunes State Park (Berrien Co.). Evans (1959) found wasps nesting in restricted areas of sand near oaks in Kansas, and recorded Notodontidae and Noctuidae as prey. One species of prey, Macrurocampa marthesia (Cramer) was an oak feeder. One or two larvae are used to provision the simple nest which is temporarily closed between provisioning trips.
FLOWER RECORDS: Euphorbia corollata.
COLLECTION DATES: 12 specimens, 1 July to 5 September.
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