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Photo#681746
Pepsid from Livermore, CA - Entypus unifasciatus - male

Pepsid from Livermore, CA - Entypus unifasciatus - Male
Livermore, Alameda County, California, USA
June 30, 2012
Size: 2 cm
Not sure if this is identifiable based on these photos, but I'm hoping the wing veination might clue someone in. It seemed a little smaller than some of the pepsids I've seen before. Feeding on Eryngium.

Images of this individual: tag all
Pepsid from Livermore, CA - Entypus unifasciatus - male Pepsid from Livermore, CA - Entypus unifasciatus - male

Male
One can count 11 flagellomeres in the full-size image...which indicates this is a male. Females generally have 10 flagellomeres throughout Aculeata (which is variously considered an "infraorder", a "division", or simply an "unranked clade").

Moved
Moved from Spider Wasps.

Most likely...
Entypus unifasciatus californicus.

 
thanks!
So what convinced you that this is E. unifasciatus? I haven't found a good resource for distinguishing pepsids with orange wings and antennae.

 
E. u. californicus
I have examined a specimen of that subspecies...and wing venation. It does not have wing vein characters of Pepsis or Hemipepsis; coloration and apparent size separate it from Cryptocheilus. I do not recall if there is an orange-winged species of Calopompilus in CA, but they are very different in shape (especially of the head) and proportions.

 
Nick, what are you ID thoughts on
...the similar post below?



Robyn's thinking Entypus unifasciatus californicus there, and that's the best I could key it to as well (using Townes(1) and the online key to genera of New World Pepsinae from the "Pompilid Project").

 
It...
strikes me as more likely to be another species of Entypus as opposed to E. u. californicus. It is difficult to tell without a view of the underside.

 
Underside images
Robyn still has the specimen, and will likely be interested and able to (eventually) take further detailed photos of particular diagnostic characters that would be helpful in nailing down an ID. Probably best for us make further comments in that regard under the 1st image of her post.

For me, it was the ID to genus that gave some hesitation, as working through the key to the genera of Pepsinae in Townes(1) had some sticky issues. In particular, I was OK getting to couplet 5 in Townes key...but at that juncture, the clearly visible fore & hind wing venation in Robyn's post seemed to lead to Priocnessus rather than Priocnenioides (= Entypus). See my recent comments under Robyn's post for more details.

Moved
Moved from ID Request.

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