Tarantula hawk
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| Tribe: | Pepsini
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The tarantula hawk is a species of spider wasp, which hunts tarantulas as food for their larvae.
Up to two inches (50 mm) long with a blue-black body and bright rust-colored wings, tarantula hawks are among the largest of wasps. A bright rust coloring on their wings is also known as aposematic coloring and warns potential predators that they are dangerous. Their long legs end with hooked claws for grappling with their victims. The stinger of a female tarantula hawk can be up to 1/3 inch (7 mm) long, and delivers a sting which is rated amongst the most painful in the insect world.
The species is classified in the genera Pepsis and Hemipepsis, of the family Pompilidae in the insect Order Hymenoptera.
Hunting and feeding
Female tarantula hawks may hunt for wandering male tarantulas. However, during the spider's reproductive season male tarantulas are usually emaciated from ignoring food while searching for females. The tarantula hawks thus prefer female tarantulas and seek them in their burrows. They capture, sting, and paralyze the spider, then they either drag the spider back into her own burrow or transport their prey to a specially prepared nest where a single egg is laid on the spider’s body, and the entrance is covered. The wasp larva, upon hatching, begins to suck the juices from the still-living spider. After the larva grows a bit, it plunges into the spider's body and feeds voraciously, avoiding vital organs for as long as possible to keep it fresh. The adult wasp emerges from the nest to continue the life cycle. Tarantula wasps are "nectarivorous." The consumption of fermented fruit sometimes intoxicates them to the point that flight becomes difficult. While the wasps tend to be most active in daytime summer months, they tend to avoid the very highest temperatures. The male tarantula hawk does not hunt; instead, it feeds off the flowers of milkweeds, western soapberry trees, or mesquite trees.[1] The male tarantula hawk has a behavior called "hill-topping", where he sits atop tall plants and watches for females that are ready to reproduce.
Geographical distribution
Worldwide distribution of tarantulas includes areas from India to Southeast Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas, where these predatory wasps are also likely to be found. Tarantula hawk species have been observed from as far north as Oregon, Phoenix, Arizona, in the United States, and south as far as Argentina in South America, with at least 250 species living in South America. Several species of tarantula hawk are found in the deserts of the southwestern United States, with Pepsis formosa and Pepsis thisbe being common. The two species are difficult to distinguish, but the majority of Pepsis formosa have metallic blue bodies, reddish antennae, which separates them from Pepsis thisbe (both species have bright orange wings that become transparent near the tip).
Sting
These wasps have been known to attack large animals such as humans with little to no provocation,[2] and the sting, particularly of Pepsis formosa, is among the most painful of any insect. Commenting on his own experience, one researcher described the pain as "...immediate, excruciating pain that simply shuts down one's ability to do anything, except, perhaps, scream. Mental discipline simply does not work in these situations."[3] In terms of scale, the wasp's sting is rated at the top of the Schmidt Sting Pain Index, second only to that of the bullet ant and is described by Schmidt as "Blinding, fierce [and] shockingly electric.".[4] Because of their extremely large stingers, very few animals are able to eat them; one of the few animals that can is the roadrunner.
Notable references
The U.S. State of New Mexico chose the insect in 1989 to become its official state insect. The selection of the insect was prompted by a group of Edgewood, New Mexico, elementary school children doing research on states which had adopted state insects. They selected three insects as candidates, and mailed ballots to all schools for a state wide election. The winner was the Tarantula Hawk Wasp (specifically, Pepsis formosa).
See also
External links
- DesertUSA page on tarantula hawks
- Pterodattilo page on tarantula hawks
- Short video clip of tarantula hawk dragging prey
- Video clip of tarantula hawk defeating a tarantula in battle
References
- ^ Steven J. Phillips, Patricia Wentworth Comus (eds.) (2000). A Natural History of the Sonoran Desert. University of California Press. pp. 464–466. ISBN 0-520-21980-5.
{{cite book}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ Schmidt, J. O., Blum, M. S., and Overal, W. L. "Hemolytic activities of stinging insect venoms", Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology, 1:155–160, 1984.