BRN 9-2 (uncompressed) - Flipbook - Page 92
But one thing is clear, all of these wasps hunt spiders, paralyze
them, drag them to a burrow, and lay their eggs on them. Each
genus tends to specialize in a particular type of spider. I would
say a particular genus of spider, but that does not seem to be
correct. And, Pepsini wasps seem to prefer large hairy grounddwelling spiders. I suspect that the fact that they are large and
ground dwelling is important, the hairy attribute - not so much.
See this REFERENCE.
What Do Other Pepsini Prey On?
Antrodiaetus paciÞcus (see below) is the prey of
Calopompilus pyrrhomelas. It is one of the Folding
Trapdoor Spiders, lives and hunts from a burrow, is
large, hairy - kind of like a tarantula, but not. The prey
of other wasps in Calopompilus are apparently not
known. But based on C. pyrrhomelas, which paralyzes
the spider, drags it back to a burrow, and lays an egg
on the spider which becomes larva food - it is assumed
that others in the genus also Òact likeÓ tarantula
hawks.
Wasps in the genus Cryptocheilus prey on wolf spiders
(Lycosid); those in the genus Entypus also prey on
Lycosid species but also on funnel weaver spiders
(Agelenids); the prey of those in the genus
Epipompilus is not known; and those in the genus
Minagenia use wolf spiders (in particular those in the
genus Lycosa) as larval hosts.
Pepsini wasps have a thing for large hairy spiders.
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