| Tachypompilus ignitus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tachypompilus ignitus with a Palystes spider | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Pompilidae |
| Genus: | Tachypompilus |
| Species: | T. ignitus |
| Binomial name | |
| Tachypompilus ignitus | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
| |
The rain spider wasp or red-femora spider wasp [3] (Tachypompilus ignitus) is an Afrotropical species of spider wasp specialising in capturing spiders of the genus Palystes , the rain spiders.
This spider wasp is found in Southern Africa, recorded from South Africa and Zimbabwe. [1]
These wasps are about 45 mm in length. [4] They are largely black with orange antennae, orange dital parts of the legs, and largely orange wings, which are dark at the base and tip. [4]
Females of T. ignites largely specialise in hunting and capturing rain spiders Palystes spp., which are stung by the wasp; the sting paralyses the spider which is dragged to the wasp's nest. In the nest, the wasp lays an egg on the spider and then seals the nest. When the larva hatches, it consumes the spider, starting with the less vital parts to keep the spider alive for as long as possible, eating the vital organs last. Once finished consuming the prey, the larva pupates, and males usually emerge before females and patrol nest sites looking for newly emerged females with which to mate. [5] Baboon spiders have also been recorded as prey for this wasp. [4] Adults feed on nectar from flowers. [6]
Huntsman spiders, members of the family Sparassidae, are known by this name because of their speed and mode of hunting. They are also called giant crab spiders because of their size and appearance. Larger species sometimes are referred to as wood spiders, because of their preference for woody places. In southern Africa the genus Palystes are known as rain spiders or lizard-eating spiders. Commonly, they are confused with baboon spiders from the Mygalomorphae infraorder, which are not closely related.
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 to a brood nest as living food; a single egg is laid on the prey, hatching to a larva which eats the still-living host. They are found on all continents other than Europe and Antarctica.
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.
Sphecius speciosus, often simply referred to as the cicada killer or the cicada hawk, is a large, solitary digger wasp species in the family Crabronidae. The name may be applied to any species of crabronid that preys on cicadas, though in North America, it is typically applied to this species, also referred to as the eastern cicada killer in order to further differentiate it from the multiple other examples of related wasp species. Sometimes, they are called sand hornets, although they are not hornets, which belong to the family Vespidae. This species can be found in the Eastern and Midwest U.S. and southwards into Mexico and Central America. They are so named because they hunt cicadas and provision their nests with them. Cicada killers exert a measure of natural control on cicada populations, and as such, they may directly benefit the deciduous trees upon which the cicadas feed.
The Australian hornet is not a true hornet, it is a type of potter wasp or "mason wasp", is a vespid native to the Australian states and territories of the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia.
Mud dauber is a name commonly applied to a number of wasps from either the family Sphecidae or Crabronidae which build their nests from mud; this excludes members of the family Vespidae, which are instead referred to as "potter wasps". Mud daubers are variable in appearance. Most are long, slender wasps about 1 inch (25 mm) in length. The name refers to the nests that are made by the female wasps, which consist of mud molded into place by the wasp's mandibles. Mud daubers are not normally aggressive, but can become belligerent when threatened. Stings are uncommon.
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 bees and ants are deeply nested within the wasps, having evolved from wasp ancestors. Wasps that are members of the clade Aculeata can sting their prey.
Palystes castaneus is a species of huntsman spider found in parts of South Africa. It is common from Cape Town to Heidelberg, Western Cape, especially in forested areas. In scrub outside forested areas, it is replaced by Palystes superciliosus. It occurs mainly on plants, where it hunts insects. It has a body length of 17–22 mm. P. castaneus is the type species for the genus Palystes, and was first described by Pierre André Latreille in 1819.
The common rain spider, formerly P. natalius, is a species of huntsman spider native to Southern Africa. It is the most common and widespread species in the genus Palystes. In South Africa its distribution ranges from KwaZulu-Natal province in the east, then westwards to the provinces of Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng and North West in the north, and Eastern Cape and Western Cape in the south. It has a body length of 15–36 mm and a leg span of up to 110mm. The species was first described by Ludwig Carl Christian Koch in 1875.
Palystes is a genus of huntsman spiders, commonly called rain spiders or lizard-eating spiders, occurring in Africa, India, Australia, and the Pacific. The most common and widespread species is P. superciliosus, found in South Africa, home to 12 species in the genus. The name Palystes is derived from either the Latin palaestes or the Greek palaistes, meaning "wrestler". The genus was first described by Ludwig Carl Christian Koch in 1875.
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.
Sceliphron laetum is a wasp in the family Sphecidae, the mud-dauber wasps. Like other members of this genus, it is a solitary species and builds cells out of mud in which to rear its young, provisioning them with paralysed spiders, and laying an egg in each. This wasp is native to Australia and southeastern Asia.
Tachytes etruscus is a predatory, solitary wasp belonging to the family Crabronidae. The species was first described by Pietro Rossi in 1790.
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.
Tachypompilus ferrugineus, the rusty spider wasp, red-tailed spider hunter, or sometimes red-tailed spider wasp is a species of spider wasp from the Americas. It preys mainly on wandering spiders, especially wolf spiders.
Poecilopompilus algidus is a species of spider wasp which is widespread in the Americas.
Hemipepsis tamisieri is a species of afrotropical pepsid spider wasp, one of the so-called tarantula hawks because its preferred prey are tarantulas of the family Theraphosidae.
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.
Ceropales bipunctata, the Two-Speckled Cuckoo Spider Wasp, is a species of diurnal, kleptoparasitic spider wasp in the family Pompilidae. It is an obligate kleptoparasite, meaning that it must rely on the captured provisions of other spider wasps and cannot capture its own. It is found on the Atlantic Coast of North America, north to New Brunswick, Canada. It feeds on nectar primarily from goldenrods, and also other common nectaring plants. It is known to lay an egg on the prey of other pompilids, including the two species Anoplius cleora and Anoplius aethiops. Eggs are laid in the book lung of the spider. These wasps also sometimes lay an egg on prey from spider-hunting wasps in the family Sphecidae.
Entypus fulvicornis is a species of spider wasp belonging to the family Pompilidae. It is found in North America.