Explanation of Names
Calopompilus pyrrhomelas (Walker, 1866)
pyrrhomelas = from the Latin pyro-, from the Ancient Greek πῦρ ('fire, fiery') + New Latin melās, from the Ancient Greek μέλας ('dark, black'). Sometimes translated together as 'fieryblack'.
Range
western (BC; AZ, CA, ID, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA)
(1)Food
Adults of this entire genus are not known to commonly visit flowers.
A recent (2023) study has determined host records to include mygalomorph spiders, including
Antrodiaetus pacificus,
A. pugnax,
Atypoides riversi (Antrodiaetidae , folding-door spiders), and
Calisoga longitarsis (Nemesiidae, false tarantulas).
(2)Life Cycle
Females appropriate the burrows of their hosts rather than dig their own nests. After locating a host burrow, the wasp lures the spider to the entrance of the burrow and then pulls it out. After stinging the to-be host, the spider then drags it back inside the burrow. After laying her eggs on the host, the female wasp leaves the burrow and seals the nest with soil from the entrance.
(2)