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The largest social wasp is the Asian giant hornet, at up to 5 centimetres (2.0 in) in length. [11] The various tarantula hawk wasps are of a similar size [12] and can overpower a spider many times its own weight, and move it to its burrow, with a sting that is excruciatingly painful to humans. [13]
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.
The female wasp may then engage in spreading soil or other changes to the area, leaving the nest site inconspicuous. One species of spider wasp protects its nests by putting dead ants into the outermost chamber, where the ants' chemicals deter predators. [16] [17] Wasp dragging a spider to its nest
Some attack arthropods other than insects: for instance, the Pompilidae specialise in catching spiders: these are quick and dangerous prey, often as large as the wasp itself, but the spider wasp is quicker, swiftly stinging her prey to immobilise it. Adult female wasps of most species oviposit into their hosts' bodies or eggs.
Arthropods are invertebrate animals having an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chitin, often mineralised with calcium carbonate. The arthropod body plan consists of segments, each with a pair of appendages.
The winged insects fall into the order Hymenoptera, which includes bees and ants. Wasps come in a variety of colors — from yellow and black to red and blue — and are split into two primary ...
Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, [2] [3] in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. [4] Many of the species are parasitic. Females typically have a special ovipositor for inserting eggs into hosts or places that are otherwise ...
Ichneumonid wasps, with very few exceptions, attack the immature stages of holometabolous insects and spiders, eventually killing their hosts. [4] They play an important role as regulators of insect populations, both in natural and semi-natural systems, making them promising agents for biological control. [5] Male ichneumonid wasp