Tarantula Hawk Pest Profile
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Common Name:
Tarantula Hawk
Scientific Name:
Pepsis species
Order and Family:
Pompilidae, Spider Wasps
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.
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 to Mexico.
Discussion:
Tarantula hawks are primarily tropical, but several large species are found in the Southwest.
WARNING: Female stings, but only if provoked.
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