Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
BugGuide Gathering
Smoky Mountains
University of Tennessee Biological Field Station
August 8-10, 2008
 
Photos from the gathering
 
Photos from the 2007 gathering in Minnesota

TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Bees, Ants, and other Stinging Wasps » Vespoidea » Spider Wasps (Pompilidae) » Auplopus
Photo#75893
Spider Wasp - Pompilid - Auplopus
Copyright © 2006 Ilona Loser

Spider Wasp - Pompilid - Auplopus
Cross Plains, Dane County, Wisconsin, USA
September 7, 2006
This is for Nick. I took more photos of the spider wasp (the last photos were from August 18, 2006). Thought you might be interested to see that it is still displaying the same behavior. I did get a photo (frass quality) of the wasp flying which shows it extended while flying. This photo was taken on the same plants as the photos in August.

Images of this individual: tag all
Spider Wasp - Pompilid - Auplopus Spider Wasp - Pompilid - Auplopus
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by Ilona Loser on 8 September, 2006 - 12:50pm
Last updated 8 September, 2006 - 6:23pm

Strange.
I do know that Auplopus are among the few pompilids that fashion mud nests instead of digging burrows or using existing cavities, and the female uses the flattened tip of her abdomen as a "trowel" to shape the wet mud. She strikes this same pose while doing so, but I don't have an explanation for this behavior in the absence of the nest.
… Eric R. Eaton, 8 September, 2006 - 1:56pm login or register to post comments

 
Neither do I...
the only time I've seen a spider wasp in this pose is when it was threatening ants that got to close to the burrow it was constructing. I have no explantion, either.
… Nick Fensler, 8 September, 2006 - 2:21pm login or register to post comments

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2008 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by Iowa State University Entomology.

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Site Map
Contact