Spider Wasps (Pompilidae) - 164 Species, Identification & Facts

Ageniella accepta

Identification: ♀ ♂ Like all Ageniellini, they sever the legs of their prey to accommodate transport: This photo shows either an aberrant A. accepta or (less likely) an undescribed species

Agenioideus cinctellus

Most solitary bees and wasps are difficult to identify, and can rarely be identified from photos taken in the field. All red-rated records should include a photo or set of photos of the specimen, illustrating the key characters taken from a standard

Allaporus pulchellus

Identification: Typical aporine: Long pronotum with a straight rear margin, incrassate front femora, two submarginal cells in anterior wing, the second receiving two recurrent veins. -Can be recognized by small size, red markings on abdomen (some fro

Anoplius aethiops

A. aethiops visits flowers while A. cleora RARELY does. Soil type is also significant. A. cleora is almost completely restricted to very sandy soil and A. aethiops is not. Note by Nick Fensler

Anoplius depressipes

Transports its spider prey (usually Dolomedes) across the water's surface. They would be expected to be found near water.

Anoplius nigerrimus

Up to 11mm length. Third submarginal cell almost triangular; comb spines of inferior row on fore basitarsus longer than those of superior row; erect hairs of thorax fine, short, with a few fine hairs on propodeum; largely with dark pubescence. The co

Anoplius toluca

Identification: Females are difficult or impossible to separate from its sister species, A. dreisbachi . When viewed laterally, the hair brushes on the 4th and 5th sternum appear continuous in A. dreisbachi but separated in A. toluca . In California

Aporinellus taeniolatus

Identification: In all the currently existing keys, two principal characters are cited for separating taeniolatus from all other species in the genus: 1) The 2nd submarginal cell is relatively small...less than twice as wide as high (cf. Fig. 245 her

Arachnospila arcta

Identification: The genus Arachnospila is most similar to Anoplius , but they lack strong bristles on the pygidium. However, of all of the genera split from Pompilus , Arachnospila is perhaps the most closely related to Anoplius . This species is ver

Auplopus carbonarius

Most solitary bees and wasps are difficult to identify, and can rarely be identified from photos taken in the field. All red-rated records should include a photo or set of photos of the specimen, illustrating the key characters taken from a standard

Ceropales elegans

Identification: Overview of Species Second flagellomere 1.8-2.2x as long as wide, pronotum and mesoscutum with inconspicuous hairs, mesopleuron coarsely punctured, second tarsomere of middle leg conspicuously longer than wide, claws of middle and hin

Ceropales maculata

Identification: C. m. caenosa : T3 entirely black; femora black. Range: CA (Sierra Nevada) C. m. fraterna : T3 with apical band; abdominal bands narrow; hind femur with yellow on less than apical third and front face brownish-black. Range: widespread

Cryptocheilus pallidipenne

Identification: From the treatment in Townes : Black. Body pubescence dark gray; flagellum orange, its first segment infuscate basally; wings orange-yellow, the apical 0.21 ± of the forewing and the apical margin of the hind wing fuscous. Female: For

Entypus fulvicornis

Identification: A black-bodied species with black wings and orange antennae. Distinguished from E. magnus by the following combination: interrupted or strongly subapically narrowed brush on the inner side of the hind tibia (narrowed more weakly in E.

Entypus unifasciatus

Identification: Body blue-black, smoky brown wings with orange tips, prominent orange antennae.

Epipompilus aztecus

Identification: After generic separation color is used to separate the species. The abdomen is black except for a pair of white spots on T2 and a white stripe on T5. The entire mesosoma is orange. The wings are hyaline and strongly twice-banded. The

Episyron quinquenotatus

Identification: body mostly black with white markings: a thin line behind each eye, another line on side of face bordering inner edge of eye, a thin crescent along anterior edge of thorax broken by black in the middle, and three white wedge-shaped ma

Red Legged Spider Wasp

Episyron rufipes

A large, robust species with ivory spots on the gaster. Until recently this was the only member of this genus to be found in Britain, but the recent discovery of Episyron gallicum has complicated matters. Females are readily distinguished by having f

Pepsis basifusca

Identification: Wings largely orangish, with rather uniformly-narrow dark borders along the margins of the fore and hind wings...which begin near the tip of the marginal cell, bend around the apex of the wing, and continue along the posterior edge to

Pepsis grossa

Identification: Very large, with two color forms: Orange-winged (xanthic) and black-winged (melanic). The two color forms are not often seen in the same locality. Melanic forms are easily confused with Pepsis mexicana , but that species is usually mu

Elegant Tarantula-hawk Wasp

Pepsis menechma

Identification: The western " cerberus " form is orange-winged (dark-bordered), with antennae entirely dark (black to dark brown). The eastern " elegans " form is a large, blue-black wasp with orange antennae and wings black...likely mimicked by an i

Milde's Tarantula-hawk Wasp

Pepsis mildei

Identification: Males may have antennae with the flagellum colored in varying amounts of orange and black. (BG images) Wing coloring may vary from solid-black to mostly-orange. ♂ ♀

Pepsis pallidolimbata

Identification: Note the absence of a dark submarginal band basal to the hyaline edge of the wing (see comment on this post by Nick Fensler).

Thisbe's Tarantula-hawk Wasp

Pepsis thisbe

Identification: "Note the dark submarginal band basal to the hyaline edge of the wing." ( comment by Nick Fensler)

Poecilopompilus algidus

Identification: This wasp is in the subfamily Pompilinae, tribe Pompilini and therefore possesses the following characters: They are separated from other Pompiline genera by the following: They are separated from the similar P. interruptus ) by the f

Poecilopompilus interruptus

Identification: This species may be separated from others within its genus by the following combination: eyes not strongly convergent above, forelegs of the female with dentate claws, clypeus of the male with the lower margin truncate (not rounded),

Poecilopompilus mixtus

Identification: Differs from P. interruptus in having a pair of (more or less expanded) longitudinal yellow stripes on the propodeum. In P. interruptus , there is only one transverse posterior yellow stripe. An additional character of diagnostic valu

Priocnemis minorata

Identification: Prominent teeth on dorsal edge of hind tibiae.

Priocnessus nuperus

Identification: Females have a row of teeth on the dorsal side of hind tibiae. ♀ ♂

Psorthaspis brimleyi

Identification: Apparently the only eastern member of the genus where female is mostly dark. Like most other members of this genus, known only from the female. Original description below (Malloch, 1928): Pedinaspis brimleyi , new species. Female. - B

Psorthaspis legata

Identification: This species has some orange coloration on the head and two cream bands on the third and fourth abdominal segments. Wings banded instead of diffusely darkened. (Nick Fensler)

Psorthaspis mariae

Identification: See discussion under images. Historical notes. The author of this species is American entomologist Ezra Townsend Cresson (1838-1926). The wasp was no doubt named "mariae" in honor of his wife (married 1859), Mary Ann Ridings Cresson (