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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 » Episyronini » Episyron

Genus Episyron

Classification · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · See Also · Print References · Works Cited
Wasp ID Request - Episyron biguttatus Wasp ID Request - Episyron biguttatus spider wasp - Episyron biguttatus - female Riverside Ichne - Episyron quinquenotatus - male Spider Wasp - Episyron Episyron conterminus posterus - Episyron conterminus - male Solidary wasp preys on spiders, Podium spp.? - Episyron conterminus Another Black and White Beach Wasp - Episyron quinquenotatus
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)
No Taxon (Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps)
Superfamily Pompiloidea (Spider Wasps, Velvet Ants and allies)
Family Pompilidae (Spider Wasps)
Subfamily Pompilinae
Tribe Episyronini
Genus Episyron
Numbers
Five species (E. biguttatus, E. conterminus, E. oregon, E. quinquenotatus, and E. snowi). Three are polytypic.
Size
5-17 mm; females>males.
Identification
This genus belongs to the subfamily Pompilinae, tribe Pompilini and is identified by the following characters:
Spines at apex of hind tibia of unequal length and spacing.
Hind tibia always smooth in nearctic species.
Dorsal side of hind femur with at least a few spine pits.
Pocket in the basioposterior corner of the third discal cell.
Labrum at least partially concealed.
Females of this genus possess a tarsal comb.

This genus is identified by the following characters:
Postnotum expanded laterally at the spiracles.
Anal vein of posterior wing meeting the medial vein beynd the origin of the cubitus.
Possess a row of spines on the apical tarsal segments.
Possess an appressed, scale-like pubescence on the thorax, propodeum, and first tergite.
Some are marked with white on the abdomen.
Range
Transcontinental.
Habitat
Found in sandy areas.
Season
In the north they are present from May through September, slightly longer in the south.
Food
Adults capture orb weavers (Araneidae) (1) to provision their nests. Adults also frequent flowers, especially males.
Life Cycle
Females are fossorial and as stated above provision only with Araneid spiders. They have several generations per year.
See Also
The appressed, scale-like pubescence on the thorax, propodeum and abdomen is distinctive in nearctic pompilines. Structurally most similar to Poecilopompilus and Sericopompilus.
Print References
Evans, H.E. 1950. A taxonomic study of the nearctic spider wasps belonging to the tribe pompilini, Part I. Trans. Amer. Entomol. Soc., 75: 133-270.

Krombein, K.V. 1979. Pompilidae, pp. 1523-1571. In Krombein, K.V., P.D. Hurd, Jr., D.R. Smith, and B.D. Burks, eds. Catalog of Hymenoptera in America North of Mexico. Vol. 2 Apocrita (Aculeata). Smithsonian Inst. Press, Washington, D.C.

Wasbauer, M.S., and L.S. Kimsey. 1985. California Spider Wasps of the Subfamily Pompilinae (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae). Bull. Calif. Insect Survey, Vol. 26
Works Cited
1.Orb Weavers
Contributed by Joel Kits on 10 August, 2005 - 4:07pm
Additional contributions by Hartmut Wisch, NFensler
Last updated 2 August, 2017 - 8:52pm

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