Spider wasp 439664 218934769 2008-06-12T20:51:23Z GrahamBould 1004607 Case {{Citations missing|date=December 2006}} {{Taxobox | name = Spider wasps | image = Spider_Wasp_dragging_Hunstman_Spider_SMC.jpg | image_width = 200px | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Arthropod]]a | classis = [[Insect]]a | ordo = [[Hymenoptera]] | subordo = [[Apocrita]] | superfamilia = [[Vespoidea]] | familia = '''Pompilidae''' | subdivision_ranks = Subfamilies | subdivision = [[Ceropalinae]]<br> [[Ctenocerinae]]<br> [[Pepsinae]]<br> [[Pompilinae]] }} Wasps in the family '''Pompilidae''' are commonly called '''spider wasps''' (in [[South America]], species may be referred to colloquially as '''marabunta''' or '''marimbondo''', though these names can be generally applied to any very large stinging wasps). The family is cosmopolitan, with some 4,200 species in 4 subfamilies.[http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1463-6409.2005.00217.x?cookieSet=1] All species are solitary, and most capture and paralyze prey, though members of the subfamily [[Ceropalinae]] are [[cleptoparasite]]s of other pompilids, or [[parasitoid|ectoparasitoids]] of living spiders. Spider wasps are best distinguished from other vespoid [[wasp]]s in having a transverse groove dividing the [[pleuron (insect)|mesopleuron]] (a region of the thorax) into halves. [[Larva]]e can also be identified by physical examination. Females are often larger than the males, with coloring and wing appearance varying greatly among the many species, though black is the most common color, with contrasting [[aposematic]] markings of orange, red, yellow, or white also being fairly common. Spider wasps are long-legged, solitary wasps that use a single spider as a host for feeding their [[larva]]e. They paralyze the spider with a venomous [[stinger (organ)|stinger]]. Once paralyzed, the spider is dragged to where a nest will be built &ndash; some wasps having already made a nest. A single egg is laid on the abdomen of the spider,<ref Name=Iziko>[http://www.museums.org.za/bio/spiderweb/predator.htm Spider predators and parasites.] Iziko Museums of Cape Town. www.museums.org.za. Retrieved [[28 November]] 2006. </ref> and the nest &ndash; or burrow &ndash; is closed. The size of the host can influence whether the wasp will lay an egg that will develop as a male, or an egg that will develop into a female &ndash; larger prey yielding the (larger) females.<ref Name=Iziko/> A complex set of adult behavior can then occur, such as spreading dirt or inspecting the area, leaving the nest site inconspicuous. When the wasp larva hatches it begins to feed on the still-living spider. After consuming the edible parts of the spider, the larva spins a silk [[Pupa#Cocoon|cocoon]] and [[Pupa|pupates]] - usually emerging as an adult the next summer. Some ceropalines lay the egg on a still-active spider, where it feeds externally on [[hemolymph]]. In time, that spider will die, and the mature wasp larva will then pupate. ==Gallery== <gallery> Image:Spider wasp flying.jpg|Spider wasp flying with its prey. Image:Anoplius viaticus.jpg|''Anoplius viaticus'' (L.) (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) with prey ''Nuctenea umbratica'' (Clerck) (Arachnida: Araneidae) Image:Wasp-Spider_Hunting.jpg|Unidentified species of spider hunting wasp in [[Texas]], [[USA]] Image:Spider_wasp_05.JPG|Spider wasp with its prey. Image:Spider Wasp 003.jpg|Spider wasp attacking huntsman spider in [[Sydney]], [[Australia|Aus.]] Image:Wasp and spider 02.jpg|Wasp dragging spider in [[New Zealand]]. Image:Wasp_talakaveri.jpg|A pompilid from the [[Western Ghats]]. Image:Spider-wasp.jpg|A pompilid from [[Bangalore]] </gallery> * [[Media:Spider wasp with prey.ogg|Video of spider wasp with prey (23s)]] ==See also== * [[Tarantula hawk]] ==References== <!-- ---------------------------------------------------------- See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Footnotes for a discussion of different citation methods and how to generate footnotes using the <ref>, </ref> and <reference /> tags ----------------------------------------------------------- --> <div class="references-small"> <references /> </div> == External links == * [http://zoologie.umh.ac.be/hymenoptera/galerie/exploredb.aspx?parent=40 Image Gallery from Gembloux] * [http://www.ento.csiro.au/Ecowatch/Primary/hymenoptera/pages/spider_wasp.htm Cryptocheilus species (spider wasp)] * [http://www.amonline.net.au/factsheets/spider_wasps.htm Spider Wasps] Australian Museum * [http://www.faunanet.gov.au/wos/factfile.cfm?Fact_ID=224 Wildlife of Sydney - Fact File - Spider Wasps] {{commonscat|Pompilidae}} [[Category:Vespoidea]] [[de:Wegwespen]] [[fr:Pompilidae]] [[it:Pompilidae]] [[no:Veivepser]] [[pl:Nastecznikowate]] [[ru:Дорожная оса]] [[fi:Tiepistiäiset]] [[sv:Vägsteklar]]