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Photo#136212
Spider Wasp with prey - Auplopus carbonarius

Spider Wasp with prey - Auplopus carbonarius
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
August 12, 2007

Images of this individual: tag all
Spider Wasp with prey - Auplopus carbonarius Spider Wasp with prey - Auplopus carbonarius

Pompilid
i think Phanagenia bombycina... i would wait for Nick to have the final word before it gets moved.

 
Auplopus...
I need to looks some stuff up on this one. This could be A. carbonarius, an introduced European species. Both shots how the characteristic long, erect hair on the propodeum and the second shot shows the bare, oval area on the pygidium characteristic of female Auplopus. Strange that it did not sever any of the legs of its prey. Perhaps it "felt" it could transport the prey without cutting off any legs.

 
Auplopus
perhaps i need glasses... i still can not see the hairs on the propodeum...

 
Advantages of being an editor.
It is really only visible in the largest view. I'm pretty sure those who aren't editors cannot see it in the original size, which is sometimes a disadvantage when explaining an ID.

 
ah...
i guess that would explain it, i can not see a full size picture...

 
Auplopus carbonarius
This individual does not match the description of any known native North American Auplopus. The introduced Auplopus carbonarius has been recorded in Ontario, so I'm quite certain that's what this is. I also see that it actually has severed at least a few of the legs of the spider.

 
Damn
spider wasps!
The prey is Cheiracanthium, family Miturgidae, for your records, Nick.

 
Was...
that genus formerly placed in the Clubionidae?

 
Yes
it was, until 1967.

 
1967!
I guess I have a few things to review about spiders! Well, this helps to support my ID even more, since this species seems to favor "Clubionids".

 
The
genus is actually still considered part of Clubionidae by some, but the guide follows the World spider catalog by Platnick.
In North America, Clubionidae offers a wide prey selection, with 58 species and subspecies, as opposed to 12 NA species in Mitugidae. Numbers from (1).

yes, a spider wasp
Pompilidae

 
Spider Wasp
Many thanks. Much appreciated.

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