Hemipepsis ustulata
| Hemipepsis ustulata | |
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| A male on his perch lookout in the Sonoran Desert. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Pompilidae |
| Genus: | Hemipepsis |
| Species: | H. ustulata |
| Binomial name | |
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Hemipepsis ustulata Dahlbom, 1843 |
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| Synonyms | |
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Hemipepsis ustulata is a species of tarantula hawk native to the Southwestern United States. Tarantula hawks are a large, conspicuous family of long legged wasps which prey on tarantulas. They use their long legs to grapple with their tarantula prey before paralyzing them with a powerful sting. Their stings are ranked second most painful in the insect world. The tarantula hawk is also the state insect of New Mexico. They are a solitary wasp species, displaying lekking territorial behavior in their mating rituals.
Hemipepsis ustulata generally have matte black bodies with rust-orange wings. They are among the largest of Hymenoptera, growing up to 5 cm in length. It is difficult to distinguish Hemipepsis from their Pepsis relatives. However, Pepsis tend to be a more metallic black with a deep blue striped patterning. Since their biology and appearance is so similar, the only reliable way to tell them apart is by their wing venation patterns.
Hemipepsis ustulata are common in the arid climate of Southwestern United States, ranging from California through Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, and as far north as Nevada, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Much of the fieldwork done on Hemipepsis ustulata was performed in the Sonoran desert near Phoenix, Arizona by John Alcock. Hemipepsis ustulata distribution overlaps with therasphoid spiders, which they parasitize to raise their young.
The tarantula hawk’s namesake comes from its predation of tarantulas to raise their young. After mating, the female wasp will seek out a tarantula, either free ranging or in its burrow. After grappling with the tarantula, the wasp will deliver a powerful sting that essentially paralyzes the tarantula permanently, but keeps it alive. This allows the wasp to lay an egg that adheres to the spider’s abdomen. One tarantula is provisioned per egg. The egg is about 5 millimeters long, gently curved, and creamy white in color. The wasp will then drag the paralyzed tarantula along with the egg, sometimes up to 100 meters, to a cavity or burrow to be sealed. This dugout can be either dug by the wasp or be the burrow of the paralyzed spider. When the larva hatches, it will feed on the spider’s guts to completion, keeping the spider alive for as long as possible for freshness.
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Wikipedia