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A tarantula hawk is a spider wasp (Pompilidae) that preys on tarantulas.Tarantula hawks belong to any of the many species in the genera Pepsis and Hemipepsis. They are one of the largest parasitoid wasps, using their sting to paralyze their prey before dragging it into a brood nest as living food; a single egg is laid on the prey, hatching to a larva which eats the still-living host.
Most species are macropterous (having long wings), but a few brachypterous (short-winged) and apterous (no wings) species are known. [3] Spider wasps are best distinguished from other vespoid wasps in having (in most species) a transverse groove bisecting the mesopleuron (the mesepisternal sclerite, a region on the side of middle segment of the ...
Hemipepsis ustulata is a species of tarantula hawk wasp native to the Southwestern United States.Tarantula hawks are a large, conspicuous family of long-legged wasps that prey on tarantulas by using their long legs to grapple with their prey and then paralyze them with a powerful sting (ranked as one of the most painful in the insect world by the Schmidt sting pain index).
Pepsis mildei, also known as Milde's tarantula-hawk wasp, is a species of predatory spider wasp native to the Western Hemisphere. These wasps capture live tarantulas to feed to their larva; the adults graze on flowers. [1] Tarantula hawks generally have no meaningful predators. [2]
In South Africa 18 plant species from three plant families, the Apocynaceae, Orchidaceae, and Asparagaceae subfamily Scilloideae are pollinated exclusively by Hemipepsis wasps. [4] A Hemipepsis sp. wasp, Kruger National Park, South Africa A female Hemipepsis sp. wasp dragging a paralyzed tarantula, Sandy Bay, South Africa
Pepsis grossa is a very large species of pepsine spider wasp from the southern part of North America, south to northern South America. It preys on tarantula spiders, giving rise to the name tarantula hawk for the wasps in the genus Pepsis and the related Hemipepsis.
Pepsis versus tarantula in Arizona. Pepsis (from Ancient Greek πέψι lit. pepsis meaning 'digestion, cooking') is a genus of spider wasps belonging to the family Pompilidae. Species within this genus are also called tarantula hawks, as they usually hunt tarantulas, similarly to many species in the genus Hemipepsis.
Pepsis albocincta is a species of spider wasps belonging to the family Pompilidae. [1] These wasps are also called tarantula hawks, as they usually hunt tarantulas, similarly to many species in the genus Hemipepsis.