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Tribe Pepsini - Tarantula-hawk Wasps and Allies

Pepsis pallidolimbata - male - female Possible P. mildei - Entypus unifasciatus Tarantula Hawk - Pepsis mildei - female Spider Wasp - Calopompilus pyrrhomelas Mrs. P. rubra-group (hind-wing) - Pepsis thisbe - female Pepsis wasp? - Pepsis chrysothemis - female Hemipepsis ustulata - female Pepsis or Hemipepsis? - Hemipepsis ustulata - female
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 Pepsinae
Tribe Pepsini (Tarantula-hawk Wasps and Allies)
Other Common Names
Tarantula-hawk Wasp tribe

Note: only Pepsis and Hemipepsis are actually tarantula-hawk species. All other members of the genus hunt other spiders, such as wolf spiders, fishing spiders, folding-door spiders, etc.
Numbers
~100 spp. in 10 genera in our area(1)
Identification

1-4. Wing venation of Pepsis, Hemipepsis, Entypus, and Calopompilus. In Pepsis, 1m-cu meets S2 at or before the basal 1/3, with the cells constricting and having their margin more at the side rather than below. It is also the only genus with a rounded marginal cell (M). In Hemipepsis, 1m-cu meets S2 within the distal 1/10, resulting in M1 being very elongate. In Entypus, 1m-cu meets S2 at around the distal 1/4. In Calopompilus, 1m-cu meets S2 near its midpoint and 2m-cu is frequently straight.


5. Additional wing venation of Cryptocheilus. Note that 1m-cu meets S2 near its midpoint and 2m-cu is frequently bent. (There has been some discussion as to whether this should be a senior synonym for Entypus.(2))

1m-cu = 1st recurrent vein 2m-cu = 2nd recurrent vein; S2 = submarginal cell; M1 = first medial or discoidal cell; 2r-m = second intercubital vein