#pompiliidae

Milde's Tarantula-Hawk Wasp (Pepsis mildei), female, family Pompilidae, National Butterfly Center, Mission, TX, US

- with Western Honey Bee friend.

Another wasp in this genus has what is considered to be the most painful sting of any insect in the United States, Pepsis grossa. This species most likely has a comparable sting.

As with many species of wasp, the adults feed on nectar and pollen from flowers.

They paralyze tarantulas and other large spiders, which they feed to their larvae.

This individual was HUGE, and very active! (almost 2.5 inches in length).

Seen here feeding on a mixture of mashed banana, beer, and yeast, spread on one of the feeding logs next to the trails.

photograph by Paxon Kale

the tarantula hawk. A beautiful creature that requires the sacrifice of an equally beautiful creature to exist.

It’s a 1:1 exchange, but of a tarantula that took many years to grow for an insect that lives a few months at best. Tarantulas manage to remain abundant in many habitats anyway.

above is a small male tarantula hawk in Arizona, below is a glimpse I caught of a large female on the hunt in Texas: