Deuteragenia ossarium

Deuteragenia ossarium, the Bone-house Wasp, is a species of pompilid wasp discovered in south-east China in 2014. It was named after graveyard bone-houses or ossuaries, from its characteristic use of a vestibular cell filled with dead ants which is built by the female wasp to close the nest after she lays her eggs.[1][2]

Deuteragenia ossarium
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Suborder:	Apocrita
Family:	Pompilidae
Genus:	Deuteragenia
Species:	D. ossarium
Binomial name
Deuteragenia ossarium Ohl, 2014

This technique is theorized to make the species' nests less vulnerable to predatory enemies than nests of other sympatric trap-nesting wasps, possibly by utilizing chemical cues in odors from the dead ants to camouflage the nest from predators, or repel them.[1]

The ant most frequently found in the vestibular cell was Pachycondyla astuta, an aggressive species with a potent sting.[2] D. ossarium parasitism rates were significantly lower than other cavity-nesting wasp species.[1]

In 2015, the International Institute for Species Exploration names it as "Top 10 New Species" for new species discovered in 2014.[3][4]