Spider Wasp's Prey - Schizocosa

Moved

Moved from Alopecosa. I agree with Harsi. We now have some great images of both male and female Alopecosa kochi and this spider doesn't match. It is a much better match to Schizocosa. Steve Lew lists maxima, mccooki & tusapa, and we can rule out tusapa by range. It sure looks like mccooki, but I've never seen maxima, so?

… Lynette Elliott, 30 October, 2010 - 10:58am

Yes, pay no attention to my r

Yes, pay no attention to my rambling comments (from earlier). :-)

… Kevin Pfeiffer, 30 October, 2010 - 1:28pm

Are you sure these images belong here, Alice?

It seemed like the tone of Kevin's comment was speculative when he suggested the genus Alopecosa, and John wasn't really able to confirm. Did you by any chance get some other input outside of BugGuide that helped you to be more certain of the ID?

I am by no means a spider expert of any kind, but I couldn't help thinking that your spider looks like a better match for some of the Schizocosa. For example, see this specimen:

Curious to hear what you (and others) think...

… Harsi S. Parker, 4 March, 2010 - 12:50am

Relied on others...

I relied on others entirely.

Does anyone know how to contact the "R.J." mentioned below?

… Alice Cavette, 4 March, 2010 - 12:50pm

R.J. refers to...

...contributor R.J. Adams, but he doesn't have any e-mail listed, nor does he in his profile on the Nearctic Arachnologists' Forum (where he is also a contributor). Sorry, I couldn't be more helpful -- maybe Kevin can you help out?

… Harsi S. Parker, 4 March, 2010 - 1:17pm

Nice picture

… John Sloan, 4 March, 2010 - 2:09am

Alopecosa?

Alopecosa (e.g., A. aculeata?) would be my guess. Perhaps John Sloan or Lynette (among others) has a better idea.

P.S. -- It's not essential, but a slightly higher resolution would be nice -- the image looks so good, one wants to see more!

-K

… Kevin Pfeiffer, 1 July, 2009 - 5:31pm

Not sure

It's hard to tell from the picture whether this spider is a male or a female.

Steve Lew lists only Alopecosa kochii for California. However, the only picture I've found of a confirmed female A. kochii looks different from this spider:

http://www.canadianarachnology.org/data/spiders/17435

I haven't found a picture of the male.

… John Sloan, 1 July, 2009 - 10:15pm

This may be a question for R.

This may be a question for R.J. (who is out in the wilderness this month, I think). I agree that it cannot be A. kochi, which doesn't seem to have such a strong cardiac mark.

-K

… Kevin Pfeiffer, 2 July, 2009 - 1:18am

Two more shots...

I posted two more shots that show the spider's head.

… Alice Cavette, 1 July, 2009 - 10:35pm

Thanks...

I'll post a series of images showing stages - probably under Tarantula Hawks.

I do not have higher resolution of spider because I was trying to shot the whole picture of the terrain and competitor wasps.

… Alice Cavette, 1 July, 2009 - 6:19pm

larger size

Hi, Alice,

A larger version of the image, say 600-800 pixels wide, would achieve the same result. This is not really necessary -- I don't want to make work for you -- it would just be nice to see the spider even larger.

-Kevin

… Kevin Pfeiffer, 2 July, 2009 - 1:15am

Wolf spider.

Spider is a lycosid. Don't understand your reservations. You should post more in order to 'get' an identification. I'm also not convinced it is a Pepsis or Hemipepsis wasp. Wolf spiders are almost literally 'beneath' tarantula hawk prey size.

… Eric R. Eaton, 1 July, 2009 - 2:19pm

Response...

1) This image shows the spider best and I just wanted an id on it for now.

2) We've had Pepsis mildeis identified here before. There is a large population in the rough fields around the lake.

3) Larger spiders like tarantulas are not as common.

4) Considering 4 of these wasps were fighting over the spider, I guess they've reached a population where they'll eat anything they can find.

… Alice Cavette, 1 July, 2009 - 2:48pm