Ivy Waspgrabber Leopoldius signatus

This fabulous insect came to light at the edge of wet woodland. I used Mike Hackston's key to identify it. Viewing the epandrium probably wasn't essential to confirm the ID but as I knew I had a suspected rarer Early Waspgrabbler Leopoldius brevirostris specimen waiting to be confirmed, I was keen to understand exactly how to find and view the epandrium. It turned out that I couldn't make out the required detail on a dried specimen, but after macerating the abdomen in potassium hydroxide solution the epandrium became easy to see. Furthermore I needed to look at it from the front in order for the view to match up with the diagram in Hackston. Armed with that new knowledge I was now able to confirm the previous brevirostris and compare their epandriums side by side.

male Ivy Waspgrabber Leopoldius signatus showing proboscis, frons, abdomen from side, epandrium in context and epandrium viewed from front, Wendling Beck Environment Project (Norfolk, UK), 29th September 2025

I caught another in my garden moth trap a few nights later. Unfortunately this one didn't survive the night so I didn't get any photos of the live insect.

male Ivy Waspgrabber Leopoldius signatus showing frons, epandrium in context and epandrium viewed from front, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 3rd October 2025

When I examined those two I knew I had another specimen to examine from last year. This one was taken earlier in the year (August) so could more plausibly have been another brevirostris, and to complicate matters it was a female. Actually I didn't find sexing it straightforward when viewing the dried specimen - the shape of the abdomen didn't seem obviously different from the males, and it didn't seem to have a projection on segment 5 as shown in Steven Falk's photos of both species. The extent of black markings on the abdomen made me think it probably was a female, but it wasn't until I cleared the abdomen in potassium hydroxide solution that I became sure of that.

The pattern of the abdomen seemed to point towards signatus, but Steven Falk's photo of female signatus abdomen in side profile showed a much more prominent bulge on segment 5 where the theca is situated. Mike Hackston's key helped but without a diagram showing the theca I wasn't sure exactly which bit the theca was so I wasn't quite sure how to interpret it. Any doubt about the identity was finally laid to rest when I found the key in the Conopid Recording Scheme's newsletter number 6. This not only showed the abdomen from the side showing the theca not visible at all, but also postero-ventral views of both species showing the theca, and mine was a clear match to the diagrams for signatus. The theca was much easier to view after clearing the abdomen in potassium hyrdoxide solution.

female Ivy Waspgrabber Leopoldius signatus showing proboscis, frons, abdome (dorsal), abdomen from side, tip of abdomen from below, close-up of tip of abdomen before clearing and tip of abdomen after clearing from below and side, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 14th August 2024