Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada

Subfamily Pepsinae


Nesting behavior of the spider wasp Calopompilus pyrrhomelas (Walker) Hymenoptera: Pompilidae)
By Frank E. Kurczewski, Marshal Hedin, & Rick C. West
Insecta Mundi, 0980: 1-7, 2023

First host record for the spider wasp Cryptocheilus severini Banks (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae: Pepsinae)
By Frank E. Kurczewski, Rick C. West, James P. Pitts, & Cecilia Waichert
Insecta Mundi, 0935: 1-4, 2022

Phylogenetic species delimitation for the widespread spider wasp Ageniella accepta (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae), with new synonyms
By Waichert C., Wilson J.S., Pitts J.P., von Dohlen C.
Insect Systematics & Evolution, 2019

Nearctic Wasps of the Subfamilies Pepsinae and Ceropalinae
By Henry K. Townes
Smithsonian Institute Press (Bulletin 209), 1957
This is the literature I'll be citing in my guide pages for Pepsines and Ceropalines. It obviously doesn't cover some species described after '57 but it's still the best comprehensive study. It has some really good keys. Might be hard to buy but most large university libraries should have it.

The New World tarantula-hawk wasp genus Pepsis Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae).
By C. R. Vardy
Zoologische Verhandelingen / Zoologische Mededelingen, 2005
This is currently the most up-to-date treatment of the genus Pepsis...published in three parts between 2000 and 2005 (by two different publishers).

Part 1. Introduction and the P. rubra species-group. Zool. Verhandel., vol. 332 (2000), pp. 1-86. (Full Text)
Part 2. The P. grossa- to P. deaurata-groups. Zool. Verhandel., vol. 338 (2002), pp. 1-134. (Full Text)

Revision of the Nearctic species of the Pompilid genus Pepsis (Hymenoptera, Pompilidae)
By Paul D. Hurd
American Museum of Natural History, New York, 1952
Full Text.

This 1952 revision of the nearctic species of the Pompilid genus Pepsis, based on the Ph.D. thesis of Paul David Hurd, was published as Vol. 98. Article 4 of the Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History.

I saw it referenced on the BugGuide info page for Pepsis, and when I found it was currently available as a PDF, I figured it would be useful to provide a book entry here with a link for downloading.

New and unusual host records for North American and South American spider wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae)
By Frank E. Kurczewski, Rick C. West, Cecilia Waichert, Kelly C. Kissane, Darrell Ubick & James P. Pitts
Zootaxa, 4891 (1): 001–112, 2020

A revision of the Mexican and Central American spider wasps of the subfamily Pompilinae
By Howard E. Evans
Memoirs of the American Entomological Society, 20: 1-439, 1966
FULL TEXT

Despite the focus on more Neotropical species, a number of these species also occur within our area.

Aporus: pp. 37-63
Arachnospila: pp. 397-402
Epipompilus: pp. 27-34
Poecilopompilus: [url=https://archive.org/details/memoirsofameric201966amer/page/203/mode/2up]pp.