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Historical records of the digger wasps, Astata Latreille 1796 (Hymenoptera:  
Crabronidae: Astatinae), from the United States and Canada in the Oregon State  
Arthropod Collection.

David M. Lowenstein1

Heather Andrews1

Erica Rudolph1

Nik G. Wiman1

Christopher J. Marshall2*

1Department of Horticulture, Oregon State University, North Willamette Research and Extension Center, Aurora, OR 
2Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State Univesrity, Corvallis, OR 

Abstract:

A dataset of 345 observational records is presented for the genus Astata (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae: 
Astatinae) based on 329 museum specimens and 16 photo vouchers.  Summary information for the 
Pacific Northwest records is provided, including the species present, seasonality and county records 
for Oregon.

Keywords: BMSB, conservation, natural history museum 

Cite this work, including the attached dataset, as: 
Lowenstein, D. M., H. Andrews, E. Rudolph, N.G. Wiman & C. J. Marshall. 2018. Historical records of 
the digger wasps, Astata Latreille 1796 (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae: Astatinae), from the United States and 
Canada in the Oregon State Arthropod Collection, OSU, Corvallis, OR. Catalog: Oregon State Arthropod 
Collection 2(1) p.1-9. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5399/osu/cat_osac.2.1.4321

Introduction:

Astata are small to moderate sized, solitary digger wasps that are reported to prey on hemipterans, 
especially members of the family Pentatomidae.  Members of the genus are found throughout the 
world with the exception of Australia (Bohart and Menke 1976; Evans 1962).  The last revisionary 
work on new world species was by Parker (1962; 1964), however literature on the new world fauna 
has been compiled as part of Pulawski’s extensive online checklist (2017).

Recent interest in historical records of Astata spp in Oregon and Washington by researchers studying 
biocontrol of Halyomorpha halys Stål 1855, the brown marmorated stink bug (Lowenstein et al. 2018), 
revealed that few authoritatively identified and vouchered specimen records were readily available 
for the genus.  At the time of this paper, only 61 records for 7 species were available through Global 
Biodiversity Information Facility (Gess and Ranwashe 2017; Gross and Oboyski 2017; Needham 
2017).  Of these, only a single species, Astata nubecula Krombein 1952, is reported from Oregon and 
Washington based on but 5 specimens (4 from Oregon and 1 from Washington). The majority of the 
existing PNW records are of specimens taken in Canada’s British Columbia, mostly from the southern 
Interior Mountains on the border with Washington, which likely represent recent surveys by Ratzlaff 
(2015).   Photographically vouchered observations of Astata spp. in the Pacific Northwest can also be 
found online, although none are reliably identifiable to species (see photo vouchers below).



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OSAC material

The OSAC has a substantial sphecoid wasp collection due in large part to the research and collecting 
efforts of Herman A. Scullen and George Ferguson.  The Astatinae consist of several drawers-worth 
of material from throughout the world. This paper presents records for the species known from the 
United States and Canada, although records from outside of this area (e.g., Mexico) were inlcuded 
if the the species was reported within the US and Canada.   Parker included these specimen in his 
published accounts of the distributional range for each species (Parker 1962), but only describes the 
distributions generally and does not provide maps, precise label data, collecting date information or 
any associated information.   

Ten species are currently reported from the Pacific Northwest, 8 of which are represented by historical 
material in the OSAC (Table 1). In total, label data for 316 specimens was transcribed, 187 of which 
correspond to localities within the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington, western Canada as well 
as portions of northern California and western Idaho).  Label data for A. bicolor and A. mexicana are 
included in the attached dataset, but contain no material collected from the Pacific Northwest. 

The specimens in the OSAC were identified by F. D. Parker as part of his revisionary work (Parker 
1962; 1964) and are thus considered authoritatively determined.  These new records will be archived 
in association with this publication and shared via an IPT server.

Table 1. Specimen records in OSAC and GBIF;  (number of observations “PNW : OR : WA”)
OSAC records Online PNW records

A. bakeri Parker 1962 43:40:2 8:0:0
A. bicolor Parker 1962 [none] reported in BC: Ratzlaff 2016(2015))
A. bechteli Parker 1962 12:12:0 [none]
A. leuthstromi Ashmead 1897 21:3:1 6:0:0

A. mexicana Cresson 1881 [none] 4:0:0
A. nevadica Cresson 1881 3:2:1 2:0:0
A. nubecula Cresson 1865 64:48:14 26:4:1
A. occidentalis Cresson 1881 16:12:1 8:0:0
A. unicolor Say 1824 46:45:1 reported in BC: Ratzlaff 2016(2015))
A. williamsi Parker 1962 1:1:0 [none]

Oregon county records (Table 2): Most counties in Oregon are poorly sampled for insects in general, 
especially those that are east of the Cascade Mountains.   These Oregon county records can be used 
as historical baseline data, but because sampling effort is certainly biased, they should be used with 
caution in determining the actual ranges of a particular species in the state, especially given the age of 
the specimens (see below).

Sampling years: Historical material covered a timespan of 75 years from 1898 (earliest confirmed 
specimen) to 1973 (latest). Several specimens collected by Orson Bennet Johnson of the University of 
Washington in Seattle (indicated by ‘OBJ’ labels on specimens), are likely from the 1890’s or earlier, 
but typically lack explicit dates.   The mean year was 1946, with half of the records from 1942 or 
earlier.



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Table 2. Oregon county records of Astata with voucher specimens in the OSAC

bakeri bechteli leuthstromi nevadica nubecula occidentalis unicolor williamsi

Benton x x x x
Coos x
Curry x
Deschutes x
Harney x x x
Hood River x
Klamath x x x x
Lake x
Lane x
Linn x x
Malheur x x x
Marion x x
Morrow x
Multnomah x
Polk x x x
Sherman x x x x
Union x x
Wallawa x
Washington x x x x x

Seasonality:  Seasonality estimates based on label data can be influenced greatly by sampling bias, 
both in terms of effort as well as geographic, latitudinal and elevational confounding factors.  Still, 
label records can provide a rough estimate of when a species is active in the environment.  The 
earliest and latest season records for PNW records in this dataset are presented in Table 3, along with 
a average date with standard deviation (in days).

Table 3. Capture dates for PNW records of Astata wasps the OSAC
Earliest/Latest record Mean (SD; #PNW records)

bakeri June 5th – Sept 13th July 13th (29 days) n=43
bechteli June 10th – July 8th June 25nd (8 days) n=12

leuthstromi June 29th – Sept 9th Jul 21 (19 days; n=21)
nevadica Aug 8th – Aug 14th Aug 10th (3 days) n=3
nubecula June 18th – Sept 27th July 31st (21 days) n=59

occidentalis June 12th – Aug 17th Aug 8th (11 days) n=16
unicolor June 3rd – Aug 30th July 20th (16 days) n=25

williamsi July 27th N/A (n=1)



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Plant associations:   Numerous specimen labels indicate that Astata have often been captured while 
on flowers, particularly Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota), which was by far the most common 
association across species and in terms of specimen records.  

The plant–wasp associations of US and Canadian Astata specimen from OSAC:
 Urtica dioica holoserica (Hoary Nettle): A. bakeri
 Daucus carota (Wild carrot/Queen Anne’s Lace):  
  A. bakeri, A. leuthstromi, A. occidentalis & A. nubecula
 Cicuta douglasii (Water hemlock): A. leuthstromi 
 Chrysothamnus nauseosus (Rabbit brush): A. occidentalis, A. bechteli
 Chrysothamnus sp.: A. bakeri
 Asclepias sp. (milkweed): A. nubecula, A. occidentalis
 Cleome serrulata (bee spider-flower): A. occidentalis, A. unicolor
 yellow composite: A. bakeri

Photographic Vouchers: In addition to specimen-vouchered observations, there exist PNW records of 
Astata available in the form of digital photographs (see: References: Photo Vouchers).  These records 
have been added to the attached dataset, identified as Astata sp.  While they are perhaps limited in 
their capacity to be identified to species, they are useful in serving to document the presence of the 
genus at particular localities.  Lacking actual specimens, the photographs themselves serve as the 
only voucher.  Copyright regulations prohibit the inclusion of these photos withouth permission of 
the original photographers.  The photographs included here (Figures 1–7) are used with permission 
of the authors.

Specimen record metadata

Data standards: All label data is consistent with Darwincore standards for occurrence data (http://
rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/Occurrence). Taxonomic treatment: Names used in this dataset correspond 
to those proposed in the revision by Parker (1962). Locality and georeference data.  Locality data was 
transcribed into the DublinCore location fields (http://purl.org/dc/terms/Location).  Namely: 
country, stateProvince, county and locality. Missing information (e.g., no county printed on actual 
specimen label) was added to a record if it could be determined without ambiguity based on 
gazetteers, maps or in reference to other label data.  Elevational data on labels were converted to 
minimumDistanceAboveSurfaceInMeters.  Elevational ranges (e.g, 500-1200m) were recorded as the 
lower of the two.  When available, decimalLatitude and decimalLongitude were included, but not all 
records were georeferenced at this time. 



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Figure 1. Astata sp. male. USA. Idaho. Latah Co. Moscow. 12.VIII.2016 © 2016 Steve Wells. (Wells, 2016). Used 
with permission.

Figure 2. Astata sp. Canada. BC. Nanaimo. Nanaimo Lakes Rd. 21 VI 2015.  © 2015 Jeremy Gatten (Gatten, 
2015). Used with permission.



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Figure 3. Astata sp. USA. Washington. Pend Oreille Co., Hook Nose Mountain viewpoint, Route 31 © 2017 Victor L 
Berthelsdorf  (Berthelsdorf 2017). Used with permission.

Figure 4. Astata sp. male. USA. Oregon. Douglas Co. Umpqua Nat. For., Soda Springs Flume. 11.VIII.2017 © 2017 Dale and 
Elva Paulson  (Paulson and Paulson 2017). Used with permission.



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Figure 5. Astata sp. male.  Canada, BC. Vancouver Is. Port Alberni, Somass Estuary. 22.VIII.2009.  
© 2014 Libby & Rick Avis (Avis & Avis, 2014). Used with permission.

Figure 6. Astata sp. female. Canada. BC. Cariboo Region. Horsefly River. 10.X.2010. On mud bank near river. © 2010 Libby 
& Rick Avis (Avis & Avis, 2010). Used with permission.



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Figure 7. Astata sp. male. USA. Washington, King Co., Tukwila, 14.VIII.2011. © 2011 Clay Kemper (Kemper, 2008). Used 
with permission.



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References:

Bohart RM,  Menke AS (1976) Specid Wasps of the World: A Generic Revision. University of Calfornia Press, Berkeley, 
California.

Evans HE (1962) Further notes on the ethology of Astata (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae). Journal of the New York 
Entomological Society 70: 30-32

Gess DS,  Ranwashe F (2017) AM: Terrestrial Insect Collections (1896-2000). Version 1.5. South African National 
Biodiversity Institute. Occurrence Dataset accessed via GBIF.org on 2017-12-05.  
doi: https://doi.org/10.15468/nlkj0p

Gross J,  Oboyski P (2017) Essig Museum of Entomology. In: Museums. BNH (Ed). 121.18 ed. Occurrence Datasetaccessed 
via GBIF.org on 2017-12-01,  pp. doi: https://doi.org/10.15468/0saucj 

Lowenstein DM, Andrews H, Rudolph E, Sullivan E, Marshall CJ, Winman NG (2018) Astata unicolor (Hymenoptera: 
Crabronidae) population in Oregon with observation of predatory behavior on Pentatomidae. Annals 
of the Entomological Society of America. Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 111: 122-126. 
https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/say010

Needham K (2017) University of British Columbia - Spencer Entomological Collection (UBCZ). In: Columbia UoB (Ed). 
13.4 ed. Occurrence Dataset accessed via GBIF.org on 2017-12-01. 
doi: https://doi.org/10.5886/r5d29ft9

Parker FD (1962) On the subfamily Astatinae, with a systematic study of the genus Astata of America North of Mexico 
(Hymenoptera: Sphecidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 55: 643-659

Parker FD (1964) On the subfamily Astatinae, part II. A review of the genus Astata from Mexico and Central America. 
Annals of the Entomological Society of America 57: 552-559

Pulawski WJ (2017) Catalog of Sphecidae: Family Group Names and Classification. [accessed 30 November 2017]  
https://www.calacademy.org/scientists/projects/catalog-of-sphecidae

Ratzlaff CG (2015) Checklist of the spheciform wasps (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae & Sphecidae) of British Columbia. 
Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia 112: 19-46

Photo Vouchers:

“edmonds” (2014) Astata sp. Photo # 962286. https://bugguide.net/node/view/962286 [accessed 12.II.2018].
“ImaPaqRat” (2012) Astata sp. Photo #684148. https://bugguide.net/node/view/684148 [accessed 12.II.2018].
Asche M (2014) Astata sp. Photo #982869. https://bugguide.net/node/view/982869 [accessed 12.II.2018].
Avis L, Avis R (2010) Astata sp. Photo #480147. https://bugguide.net/node/view/480147 [accessed 12.II.2018].
Avis L, Avis R (2014) Astata sp. Photo #1025459. https://bugguide.net/node/view/1025459[accessed 12.II.2018].
Bearup M (2012) Astata sp. Photo #564921. https://bugguide.net/node/view/564921 [accessed 12.II.2018].
Berthelsdorf VL (2017) Astata sp. Photo # 1414771. https://bugguide.net/node/view/1414771 [accessed 12.II.2018].
Gatten J (2015) Astata sp. Photo # 1088487. https://bugguide.net/node/view/1088487 [accessed 12.II.2018].
Huntley-Franck P (2016) Astata sp. Photo #222929. https://bugguide.net/node/view/222929 [accessed 12.II.2018].
Iris (2017) Astata sp. Photo #1411507. https://bugguide.net/node/view/1411507 [accessed 12.II.2018.
Kemper C (2008) Astata sp. Photo #564600. https://bugguide.net/node/view/564600 [accessed 12.II.2018.
Paulson E,  Paulson D (2017) Astata sp. Photo # 1431275. https://bugguide.net/node/view/1431275 [accessed 12.II.2018].
Sullivan E (2015a) Astata sp. Photo #1108677. https://bugguide.net/node/view/1108677 [accessed 12.II.2018].
Sullivan E (2015b) Astata sp. Photo # 1108681. https://bugguide.net/node/view/1108681 [accessed 12.II.2018].
Volkman K (2008) Astata sp. Photo # 207977. https://bugguide.net/node/view/207977 [accessed 12.II.2018].
Wells S (2016) Astata sp. Photo # 128816. https://bugguide.net/node/view/1280816 [accessed 12.II.2018].


