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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) » Pepsinae » Mud-nesting Spider Wasps (Ageniellini) » Auplopus
Photo#586559
Spider Wasp - Auplopus
Copyright © 2011 Ashley Bradford

Spider Wasp - Auplopus
Inn at Afton, Rockfish Gap, Nelson County, Virginia, USA
October 9, 2011
I always feel sorry for spiders when I see them like this - what a horrible fate awaits them! The wasp had a beautiful blue sheen. Not a particularly large one. I think the spider was one of the many black furry jumpers I saw around - P. audax, maybe?

In trying to get a photo, I startled the wasp and it dropped the spider. I doubt the spider was in any good shape to carry on, though; she doesn't appear to have any legs left, in this photo. She fell in a crack and I wasn't able to assess her. And this was the only shot I got.
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Contributed by Ashley Bradford on 11 October, 2011 - 6:15pm
Last updated 16 August, 2012 - 10:06am

Moved
Moved from Spider Wasps.
… Ashley Bradford, 16 August, 2012 - 10:06am login or register to post comments

Auplopus
A. architectus or one of the two very similar species (nigrellus or caerulescens). Auplopodine spider wasps normally sever the legs of their prey to facilitate transport. Paralysis is normally permanent in Auplopus.
… Nick Fensler, 15 August, 2012 - 8:10pm login or register to post comments

 
Thanks for the info
What a horrifying way to go! This always seems like such a nightmare when I encounter it.
… Ashley Bradford, 16 August, 2012 - 10:05am login or register to post comments

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