Bees, Wasps, and Kin
Description
1/2-3/4" (12-20 mm). Short "waist" (pedicel) between thorax and abdomen. Velvety black. Wings reddish to orange, darker and less transparent at tip and base.
Warning
Female stings, but only if provoked.
Food
Adult drinks nectar. Larva feeds on tarantulas and trapdoor spiders.
Life Cycle
Female stings spider between legs, immobilizing it. The female quickly digs a burial chamber, drags the spider inside, lays an egg, and closes burrow. Wasp larva feeds on spider, eventually killing it.
Habitat
Dry hillsides and rolling arid plains.
Range
California and Mexico.
Discussion
Tarantula hawks are primarily tropical, but several large species are found in the Southwest.
