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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps » Spider Wasps, Velvet Ants and allies (Pompiloidea) » Spider Wasps (Pompilidae) » Pompilinae » Pompilini » Blue-black Spider Wasps (Anoplius) » Subgenus Anoplius (Anoplius Subgenus Anoplius) » Anoplius depressipes
Photo#2039627
Spider wasp and fishing spider prey - Anoplius depressipes - female
Copyright © 2021 Gary Shackelford

Spider wasp and fishing spider prey - Anoplius depressipes - Female
Stone Lake, Sawyer County, Wisconsin, USA
July 16, 2021
A black wasp preying on a fishing spider on a lake in northern Wisconsin. ?Anoplius depressipes and Dolomedes triton?
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by Gary Shackelford on 16 September, 2021 - 11:24am
Last updated 17 September, 2021 - 11:41am

Moved
Moved from Spider Wasps.

Feeling pretty confident in this move because it doesn't seem like there are many (any?) other options for parasitizing aquatic spiders like that. Behavior on the water matches as well, which makes sense considering the modification to the front tibiae for "water skiing".
… Tyler Hedlund, 17 September, 2021 - 11:41am login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from ID Request.
… Bob Biagi, 17 September, 2021 - 9:51am login or register to post comments

 
Species ID?
Do you think the species of wasp is Anoplius depressipes? From my reading, some sources state that A. depressipes is the only species of spider wasp that preys upon fishing spiders in the water.
… Gary Shackelford, 17 September, 2021 - 11:34am login or register to post comments

 
Yes
That is probably correct. Nice!
… Bob Biagi, 17 September, 2021 - 11:48am login or register to post comments

Impressive! The wasp seems ju
Impressive! The wasp seems just as comfortable on the water as its prey is, did you see the hunt?
… Hexapoda, 16 September, 2021 - 8:47pm login or register to post comments

 
The setting
I did not witness the hunt. I first spotted the wasp when it was on the water with its prey. I watched as it dragged the spider onto shore (beach sand) and then along the sand into some flotsam, where I lost it. I took several photos. The next day I witnessed nearly the same phenomenon at the same location, this time spotting the wasp (same individual?) as it dragged its prey (another Dolomedes triton) along the beach toward the same collection of debris. I have several photos of that event too.

I am presuming that the wasp is Anoplius depressipes. Right?
… Gary Shackelford, 17 September, 2021 - 8:50am login or register to post comments

Agreed on the spider
… Tyler Hedlund, 16 September, 2021 - 1:19pm login or register to post comments

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