Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
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
Photo#90285
Catface Killer - Poecilopompilus algidus

Catface Killer - Poecilopompilus algidus
Cache County, Utah, USA
August 6, 2006
Size: about an inch
I spotted this big wasp digging and decided to watch it for a while. When it stopped digging it wandered around a small area then went back to digging. It repeated this a couple of times, then on one of the ventures away from the hole it picked up a large object and started dragging it. To my surprise it was a big greenish gray Catface Spider. It took it a couple tries to get it to its hole, then it had to dig the hole bigger because it wouldn't fit, but soon enough it took it down in, came back up and buried it. I came back the next night with a good camera and got these photos, that time he had another wasp for company. One of them had this spider. Another wasp came the next night. They were around for 4-6 days doing this. I figured they had harvested every Catface Spider in the area around my Grandparents lilac trees, but after the wasps were gone I found a big one hiding on an old fuel tank less than eight feet away from the spider burial grounds.

Images of this individual: tag all
Catface Killer - Poecilopompilus algidus Catface Killer - Poecilopompilus algidus Catface Killer - Poecilopompilus algidus

Moved
Moved from Poecilopompilus.

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