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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 » Tarantula-hawk Wasps and Allies (Pepsini) » Tarantula-hawk Wasps (Pepsis) » Milde's Tarantula-hawk Wasp (Pepsis mildei)
Photo#689791
Blue & Orange flying insect - Pepsis mildei - female
Copyright © 2012 Joyce Kane

Blue & Orange flying insect - Pepsis mildei - Female
Lake Isabella, Kern County, California, USA
August 12, 2012
Size: @ 2 inches
It spent a long time on my spearmint flowers

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Blue & Orange flying insect - Pepsis mildei - female Blue & Orange flying insect - Pepsis mildei - female Blue & Orange flying insect - Pepsis mildei - female Blue & Orange flying insect - Pepsis mildei - female
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Contributed by Joyce Kane on 13 August, 2012 - 11:50pm
Last updated 12 September, 2015 - 6:36pm

Moved
Moved from Tarantula Hawks.

In the 2nd image, the marginal cell can be seen to be apically rounded and slightly separated from the edge of the wing...so this is definitely Pepsis. This is a female, from the convolute (= circularly curled) antennae.

Keys clearly in Hurd(1)(1952) to P. mildei...some salient characters: dark tipped wing margins; orange antennae; spurs of middle tibiae not appreciably curved; 1st antennal flagellomere (i.e. 3rd segment) shorter than distance between inner eye margins along line through posterior ocelli.

Location is also squarely within range of P. mildei.

It was presumably spending extended time on the spearmint flowers to feed on nectar.
… Aaron Schusteff, 12 September, 2015 - 6:20pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from ID Request.
… Eric R. Eaton, 15 August, 2012 - 12:37am login or register to post comments

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