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
