Genus Paravespa Radoszkowski 1886

Paravespa Radoszkowski 1886: 46. Type species: Paravespa komarowii Radoszkowski 1886 (= Hoplomerus quadricolor Morawitz 1885), by monotypy.

Theletor Kokujev 1913: 4. Type species: Rhynchium caucasicum Kokujev 1913, by subsequent designation of van der Vecht 1972, synonymized with Paravespa Radoszkowski 1886 by van der Vecht & Fischer 1972.

The genus includes 17 species. Four Palaearctic species of the subgenus Paravespa are distributed in Western and Central Asia. However, one species, P. (P.) rex occurs also in Europe (the Crimea). The genus is not included to the “Fauna Europaea” database (Gusenleitner 2004). The record of the presence of Paravespa in Europe was firstly published by G. Kostylev, as “ Hoplomerus (= Paravespa) rex Schulth. & Friese ” (Kostylev 1928), and then repeated by Kurzenko (1977). These records were omitted by Gusenleitner (2004).

The species of the genus differ from other related genera (i.e., Paragymnomerus Blüthgen 1938 and Tropidodynerus Blüthgen 1939) by the long parastigma, which is longer than the pterostigma, by deep, long parapsidal furrows, and by having a smooth lustrous area on scutum anteriorly. Three species, Paravespa (P.) grandis, P. (P.) mimetica, and P. (P.) quadricolor are characterized by well-developed sexual dimorphism in the coloration, the males and females of P. (P.) rex have similar coloration.

All species of the genus studied until now are ground nesting. Females make vertical nest burrows on horizontal ground surfaces and surmount nest entrances by turrets. The prey of the wasps is caterpillars of noctuidmoths (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) (Blüthgen 1957, Schmidt 1959, Gess & Gess 1988).