| Anoplius americanus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Anoplius americanus, Big Cypress National Preserve, Ochopee, Florida | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Pompilidae |
| Genus: | Anoplius |
| Species: | A. americanus |
| Binomial name | |
| Anoplius americanus | |
Anoplius americanus is a species of blue-black spider wasp which is widely distributed in the New World.
Anoplius americanus is approximately 20 mm in length. It is almost completely black, except for bright orange spots on the second and third segments on the abdomen which are specifically distinct. [2]
Adults have been observed nectaring on flowers of the families Apiaceae, Asteraceae, Lamiaceae and Polygonaceae. [3] Like other members of the genus Anoplius the predominant prey is likely to be wolf spiders of the family Lycosidae.
Anoplius americanus can be found in North America, Central America, [4] [5] and the West Indies. [6] [7]
The black and yellow mud dauber, Sceliphron caementarium, is a species of sphecid wasp. There are some 30 other species of Sceliphron that occur throughout the world, though in appearance and habits they are quite similar to S. caementarium.
The Ichneumonidae, also known as the ichneumon wasps or ichneumonids, is a parasitoid wasp family within the insect order Hymenoptera. This insect family is among the most species-rich branches of the tree of life. At the same time, it is one of the groups for which our knowledge most severely lags behind their actual diversity. The roughly 25,000 species described today probably represent less than a quarter of their true richness, but reliable estimates are lacking, as is much of the most basic knowledge about their ecology, distribution and evolution. Ichneumonid wasps, with very few exceptions, attack the immature stages of holometabolous insects and spiders, eventually killing their hosts. They thus fulfill an important role as regulators of insect populations, both in natural and semi-natural systems, making them promising agents for biological control.
Wasps in the family Pompilidae are commonly called spider wasps, spider-hunting wasps, or pompilid wasps. The family is cosmopolitan, with some 5,000 species in six subfamilies. Nearly all species are solitary, and most capture and paralyze prey, though members of the subfamily Ceropalinae are kleptoparasites of other pompilids, or ectoparasitoids of living spiders.
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps but are in a separate suborder. The wasps do not constitute a clade, a complete natural group with a single ancestor, as their common ancestor is shared by bees and ants. Many wasps, those in the clade Aculeata, can sting their insect prey.
Anoplius is a genus of spider wasps in the family Pompilidae, called the blue-black spider wasps.
Anoplius nigerrimus is one of the most common spider wasps, or pompilids, in Europe. They are mostly black and the females are 6-8 mm long while males measure 5-8 mm. This species may be distinguished from the related Anoplius concinnus and Anoplius caviventris by the 20 setae, or hairs, on the forehead rather than 60 or 45.
Ceropales maculata is a kleptoparasitic spider wasp found in the holoarctic region.
Evagetes is a genus of spider wasps from the family Pompilidae. There are 72 described species, of which 58 are found in the Palaearctic region, 11 in the Nearctic region, with a few penetrating to the Afrotropical, Oriental and Neotropic regions. Evagetes wasps are kleptoparasitic on other pompilid wasps, especially the genera Arachnospila, Anoplius, Episyron and Pompilus, digging into their sealed burrows, eating the host egg and replacing it with an egg of its own. Evagetes wasps are characterised by their very short antennae. Most are species are black with the base of the antennae rufous, several Evagetes species are very metallic bluish insects.
Evagetes crassicornis is a kleptoparasitic spider wasp with a holarctic distribution.
Anoplius viaticus, commonly known as the black-banded spider wasp, is a species of spider wasp. These wasps are known as spider wasps because the females capture spiders to provide their offspring with food. The paralysed spider is cached in a burrow, the wasp lays an egg on it, and when this hatches, the developing wasp larva consumes the spider. This species is found in sandy heathland across most of Europe.
Anoplius infuscatus is a species of spider wasp found mainly in Eurasia.
Anoplius concinnus is a widespread Eurasian species of spider wasp.
Ireangelus is a genus of kleptoparasitic spider wasps from the sub-family Ceropalinae of the family Pompilidae. The genus has a pan tropical distribution, being known from Oriental, Neotropical, Australian, eastern Palearctic, and Madagascan Zoogeographic regions being best represented in the Neotropics. Irenangelus is closely related to the more widespread genus Ceropales, the two genera forming a monophyletic subfamily, Ceropalinae within the Pompilidae. This is regarded as the most basal grouping of the Pompilidae but this view is problematic because of the kleptoparasitic life history of the Ceropalines, it is now considered that they Ceropalines and other pompilids evolved from a common ectoparasitoid ancestor.
Tachypompilus is a genus of spider wasps, found in the Neotropics Nearctic, eastern Palearctic, Indomalayan and Afrotropics.
Tachypompilus analis, the red-tailed spider wasp is a species of spider wasp found in most of tropical and subtropical Asia, north to Japan. These spider wasps often hunt huntsman spiders.
Poecilopompilus algidus is a species of spider wasp which is widespread in the Americas.
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. Only the females hunt, so only they are capable of delivering a sting, which is considered the second most painful of any insect sting; scoring 4.0 on the Schmidt sting pain index compared to the bullet ant's 4.0+. It is the state insect of New Mexico. The colour morphs are the xanthic orange-winged form and the melanic black winged form. In northern South America, a third form, known as "lygamorphic", has a dark base to the wings which have dark amber median patches and a pale tip.
Pompilini is a tribe of spider wasps in the family Pompilidae. There are about 18 genera and at least 50 described species in Pompilini.
Trypoxylon lactitarse is a species of square-headed wasp in the family Crabronidae. It is found in Central America, North America, and South America. These are fairly common harmless black wasps that build muddy elongate nests on the external walls of houses and low-story apartments. Their characteristic nests resemble pan-flutes in shape, and are provisioned with spiders captured and paralysed by the mother wasp. It lays an egg within each elongate nest cell amongst the invalid spiders, from which a larva will hatch and slowly consume all spiders as food. This species apparently undergoes four larval moults until completing their development as pupae inside a black cocoon.
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