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.
Episyron is a genus of wasps in the family Pompilidae which prey on spiders. Nine species are found in Europe.
Anoplius is a genus of spider wasps in the family Pompilidae, called the blue-black spider wasps.
Dipogon bifasciatus is a spider wasp from the family Pompilidae.
Dipogon subintermedius is a spider wasp from the family Pompilidae.
Cryptocheilus is a genus of spider wasps of the subfamily Pepsinae, they are found in the world's warmer regions. They vary in size from medium to large and are often strikingly coloured. The females construct multicellular nests in cavities, once built each cell is stocked with a spider, captured by the female. They are found in open habitats such as heaths, meadows and forest edges.
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 is a genus of kleptoparasitic spider wasps from the sub-family Ceropalinae of the family Pompilidae. They are characterised by the taking of the spider prey of other solitary wasps, mainly Pompilidae but members of the Sphecidae that provision with spider prey are sometimes also hosts. In some languages their name translates into English as "Cuckoo Spider Wasp".
Epipompilus is a genus of spider wasps in the subfamily Ctenocerinae, part of the widespread family Pompilidae. Representatives of Epipompilus can be found in Australasia and North and South America. This distribution may indicate that Epipompilus evolved in Gondwana and is similar to other Gondwanan taxa such as the southern beech Nothofagus and Auracaria.
Aporus is a genus of spider wasps from the family Pompilidae, they specialise in hunting ground dwelling spiders in their burrows for laying eggs on.
Priocnemis is a genus of pepsine spider wasp containing around 30 species.
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.
Arachnospila is a predominantly Holarctic genus of spider wasps, with limited representation in montane habitats in Neotropical and Afrotropical regions. They are found in open habitats and at forest edge, the nests may contain more than one cell.
Agenioideus is a genus of spider wasps from the subfamily Pompilinae; the genus occurs in Europe, where 21 species are recorded, eastwards to Japan, in North America, South America, and Australia.
Priochilus is a genus of neotropical spider wasp in the family Pompilidae.
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.
Poecilopompilus algidus is a species of spider wasp which is widespread in the Americas.
Allochares azureus is a species of spider wasp from the family Pompilidae, it is the only member of the monotypic genus Allochares. It occurs in the southern part of North America and is a specialist parasitoid of the Southern house spider.
Psorthaspis is a genus of spider wasps in the family Pompilidae. There are more than 30 described species in Psorthaspis.
