Download high resolution image here.
I collected this specimen on Embudo Trl (193) from the sandy dry stream bed below Embudo Spring at about 6600 ft elevation (
35°05'47.8"N 106°27'52.5"W) in the
Sandia Mountains,
Tijeras 7.5’ quadrangle, Bernalillo Co, NM. It was dragging the paralyzed
Capnobotes fuliginosus posted here:
It is likely that the image at the
Project Noah site is of the same wasp/host pair species. The behavior, sandy terrain, and wasp appearance are indistinguishable from what I observed.
The Bohart and Menke 1976
(1) Sphecini key identifies the genus as
Palmodes from its straight inner orbits and slightly concave and notch-free clypeus medial lobe laterally bounded by sinuation. The Bohart and Menke 1961
(2) female key, then, identifies the species as
P. praestans from the length of this medial lobe's concave margin being greater than the antennal socket expanse, its extensively suffused orange wings, dark pubescence on its face and clypeus, and reddish abdomen.
For corroboration, this species ID is consistent with Caudell 1919
(3) identifing
Capnobotes fuliginosus as host. Although I have not gone through it in detail, Fernald 1906
(4) provides a detailed description of
Palmodes praestans. The abdomen color is described there as "pale ferruginous, almost yellow" vs. simply "red" in Bohart and Menke 1976. This is a more accurate description for our specimen.
Eric Eaton concurs with my species ID.
This image is from a
CombineZP processed stack of 71 images with a 362 µm step taken with a
Nikon 200mm F/4 AF-D ED-IF Micro Nikkor macro set to F/5.6 + Nikon D810 camera.