Prionyx

Prionyx is a genus of wasps in the family Sphecidae. They are known to hunt and feed on grasshoppers.

Prionyx
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Sphecidae
Subfamily:	Sphecinae
Genus:	Prionyx Vander Linden, 1827
Type species
Prionyx kirbii Vander Linden, 1827[1]
Synonyms[2]
Calosphex Kohl, 1890 Enodia Dahlbom, 1843 Gastrosphaeria A. Costa, 1858 Harpactopus F. Smith, 1856 Neosphex Reed, 1894 Parasphex F. Smith, 1856 Priononyx Dahlbom, 1843 Pseudosphex Taschenberg, 1869

Behavior

Prior to laying their eggs the female Prionyx stings a grasshopper causing paralysis. She will then bury the grasshopper in a burrow she has excavated, lay an egg on the body, and then seal the burrow. When the egg develops it feeds on the grasshopper until it has matured, and then pupates.

Etymology

The name Prionyx comes from the Greek words "Prion" (Saw) and "Onyx/Onychus" (Claw), which refers to the saw-like endings on the creature's legs.

Species

These species belong to the genus Prionyx:

• Prionyx afghaniensis (de Beaumont, 1970) ^WPC
• Prionyx atratus (Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau, 1845) ^{i c g b}
• Prionyx bifoveolatus (Taschenberg, 1869) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx binghami Jha and Farooqi, 1996 ^{i c g}
• Prionyx canadensis (Provancher, 1887) ^{i c g b}
• Prionyx chobauti (Roth, 1925) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx crudelis (F. Smith, 1856) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx damascenus (de Beaumont, 1968) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx elegantulus (R. Turner, 1912) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx erythrogaster (Rohwer, 1913) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx fervens (Linnaeus, 1758) ^{i c g b}
• Prionyx foxi Bohart & Menke, 1963 ^{i c g b}
• Prionyx fragilis (Nurse, 1903) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx funebris (Berland, 1926) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx globosus (F. Smith, 1856) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx gobiensis (Tsuneki, 1971) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx guichardi (de Beaumont, 1967) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx haberhaueri (Radoszkowski, 1871) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx herrerai (Brèthes, 1926) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx indus (Linnaeus, 1758) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx insignis (Kohl, 1885) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx judaeus (de Beaumont, 1968) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx kirbii (Vander Linden, 1827) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx kurdistanicus (Balthasar, 1954) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx leuconotus (F. Morawitz, 1890) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx lividocinctus (A. Costa, 1861) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx macula (Fabricius, 1804) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx melanotus (F. Morawitz, 1890) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx neoxenus (Kohl, 1890) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx nigropectinatus (Taschenberg, 1869) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx niveatus (Dufour, 1854) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx notinitidus (Willink, 1951) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx nudatus (Kohl, 1885) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx parkeri Bohart & Menke, 1963 ^{i c g b}
• Prionyx persicus (Mocsáry, 1883) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx popovi Guichard, 1988 ^{i c g}
• Prionyx pseudostriatus (Giner Marí, 1944) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx pumilio (Taschenberg, 1869) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx radoszkowskyi (Kohl, 1888) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx reymondi (Roth, 1954) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx saevus (F. Smith, 1856) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx semistriatus (Schrottky, 1920) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx senegalensis (Arnold, 1951) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx senilis (Morice, 1911) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx sennae (Mantero, 1901) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx simillimus (Fernald, 1907) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx sirdariensis (Radoszkowski, 1877) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx songaricus (Eversmann, 1849) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx spinolae (F. Smith, 1856) ^{i c g WPC}*
• Prionyx stschurowskii (Radoszkowski, 1877) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx subatratus (R. Bohart, 1958) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx subfuscatus (Dahlbom, 1845) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx sundewalli (Dahlbom, 1845) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx thomae (Fabricius, 1775) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx trichargyrus (Spinola, 1839) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx viduatus (Christ, 1791) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx vittatus (Kohl, 1884) ^{i c g}
• Prionyx xanthabdominalis Li and Yang, 1995 ^{i c g}
• Prionyx zarudnyi (Gussakovskij, 1933) ^{i c g}

Data sources: i = ITIS,^[2] c = Catalogue of Life,^[3] g = GBIF,^[4] b = Bugguide.net^[5] WPC = Wojciech J. Pulawski's Catalog (Accessed March, 2025, but not in ITIS etc using same older source from 2019)

• Note: As a proposed replacement name for preoccupied Sphex chilensis Spinola, 1851, as used later by various authors, but in several sources as e.g. Prionyx chilensis (Spinola, 1851), e.g. after Amarante, 2002)