Pepsis thisbe
Species of wasp
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pepsis thisbe, also known as Thisbe's tarantula-hawk wasp,[1] is a species of spider wasp in the family Pompilidae.[2][3] Females are 32-44 mm long with a dark blue body and orange wings.[4]
| Pepsis thisbe | |
|---|---|
| |
| Pepsis thisbe and prey, Riverside County, California, 2024 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Pompilidae |
| Subfamily: | Pepsinae |
| Tribe: | Pepsini |
| Genus: | Pepsis |
| Species: | P. thisbe |
| Binomial name | |
| Pepsis thisbe Lucas, 1895 | |
Description
The females of this species sport curly antennae, while the males' are straight. Males do not have stingers and females have ones about 7mm (¼ inch) in length. Adults are nectarivores (feeding on flower material), but females hunt tarantulas as food for larvae, hence their name. They are found throughout the American Southwest in desert areas.[5]
