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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 .
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 some 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.
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 .
Wasps come in a variety of colors — from yellow and black to red and blue — and are split into two primary groups: social and solitary. Most wasps are solitary, non-stinging insects that do ...
The size of the host can influence whether the wasp's egg will develop as a male or a female; larger prey often yield the (larger) females. [20] Pepsis thisbe of the southwestern United States exhibits a direct correlation between adult wasp body length and the weight of its host spider, Aphonopelma echina.
Pepsis grossa, alongside a golden paper wasp for scale. Due in part to confusion over the distinctness of various color forms, until 2002 this species was known by the name Pepsis formosa, including a subspecies P. formosa pattoni, but C.R. Vardy synonymized both forms of P. formosa into P. grossa.
Hemipepsis is a genus of large pepsine spider wasps found throughout the tropics. They are commonly known as tarantula hawks. Hemipepsis wasps are morphologically similar to the related genera Pepsis and Entypus, but distinguishable by the pattern of wing venation. [3]
Tarantula hawk wasp (state insect) Pepsis grossa: 1989 [40] Sandia hairstreak (state butterfly) Callophrys mcfarlandi: 2003 [41] New York: 9-spotted ladybug: Coccinella novemnotata: 1989 [42] North Carolina: European honey bee (state insect) Apis mellifera: 1973 [43] Eastern tiger swallowtail (state butterfly) Papilio glaucus: 2012 [44] North ...