Spider Wasp with Spider - Anoplius virginiensis - Henrietta, Monroe County, New York, USA July 17, 2016
Identified from the photos by Frank E. Kurczewski. "Your two latest excellent photos, when fully magnified, enabled me to identify your wasp as Anoplius virginiensis, the deciduous woodland species. It met all of the taxonomic criteria for genus Anoplius, subgenus Anoplius, nigerrimus species group, and species virginiensis. The key structural characteristics were densely bristly last abdominal segment, posterior margin of pronotum angulate, and absence of a foretarsal comb for subgenus Anoplius; front basitarsus weakly-spined for nigerrimus species group; and, middle interocular distance .53 – .58 transfacial distance, postocellar distance less than ocello-ocular distance (4:5), and 3rd antennal segment .9 – 1.2 times upper interocular distance. I was able to measure all of these distances using your fully magnified exquisite photographs."
Images of this individual: tag all Contributed by Jay Greenberg on 19 July, 2016 - 11:58am Last updated 23 July, 2016 - 4:15pm |