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Genus Sericopompilus

Wasp ID Request - Sericopompilus apicalis - male Wasp - Sericopompilus neotropicalis - female Wasp - Sericopompilus neotropicalis - female Wasp - Sericopompilus neotropicalis - female Small Spider Wasp - Sericopompilus neotropicalis - male Wasp on Spring Island - Sericopompilus apicalis - female Unknown spider wasp - Sericopompilus apicalis - female Sericopompilus apicalis
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)
No Taxon (Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps)
Superfamily Pompiloidea (Spider Wasps, Velvet Ants and allies)
Family Pompilidae (Spider Wasps)
Subfamily Pompilinae
Tribe Sericopompilini
Genus Sericopompilus
Numbers
Three species
Sericopompilus angustatus
Sericopompilus apicalis
Sericopompilus neotropicalis
Size
Females are typically 12-15 mm (occasionally slightly larger), males smaller.
Range
Transcontinental. Each species has a slightly more restricted distribution.
Habitat
Psammophilous. Found in places with scattered vegetation but always with sandy or loose soil.
Season
Mid- to late summer in most of the country.
Food
Adults occasionally visit flowers. Females provision nest cavity with a single Araneid, Clubionid, Lycosid, Oxyopid, Salticid, or Thomisid spider.
Life Cycle
There is a single generation per year throughout most of the region
See Also
Closely related to Episyron
Print References
Evans, H.E. 1951. A taxonomic study of the nearctic spider wasps belonging to the tribe pompilini, Part II. Trans. Amer. Entomol. Soc., 76: 207-361. (descriptions, keys, distribution)

Krombein, K.V. 1979. Pompilidae, pp. 1548-1549. In Krombein, K.V., P.D. Hurd, Jr., D.R. Smith, and B.D. Burks, eds. Catalog of Hymenoptera in America North of Mexico. Vol. 2 Apocrita (Aculeata). Smithsonian Inst. Press, Washington, D.C. (species, prey records)