Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar

TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData

Species Ageniella accepta

Spider wasp? - Ageniella accepta Wasp - Ageniella accepta Ageniella accepta (Crotch) - Ageniella accepta - male Ageniella? - Ageniella accepta Ageniella? - Ageniella accepta Small Wasp - Ageniella accepta Wasp on Rabbitbrush - Ageniella accepta Female Ageniella accepta? - Ageniella accepta - 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 Ageniellini (Mud-nesting Spider Wasps)
Genus Ageniella
Species accepta (Ageniella accepta)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Ageniella conflicta Banks, 1944(1)
Ageniella persimillis Banks, 1931
Ageniella adara Brimley, 1934
Ageniella praestans Banks, 1914
Pseudagenia texana Banks, 1910
Ageniella blaisdelli (Fox, 1892)(1)
= Pseudagenia blaisdelli Fox, 1892
Orig. comb.: Pompilus (Agenia) acceptus Cresson, 1867
Explanation of Names
Ageniella accepta (Cresson, 1867)
Size
8-12mm
Identification
Females are entirely orange or red-orange.
Wings range from pale straw-colored with two very distinct bands to almost entirely dark. However, the wings usually show at least some indication of banding even in individuals with very dark wings.
The brush on the inner side of the hind tibiae in interrupted subapically and the marginal cell is separated from the wing tip by its own length or less.
The hind tibiae of both sexes are smooth.
      ♂
Range
Transcontinental, southern Canada to Mexico
Habitat
Open areas are favored (i.e. fallow fields, sand barrens, and other places with bare soil and sparse vegetation). Also hunts at woodland edges.
Season
Fairly rare so its seasonal distribution is difficult to assess. Seems to have a single generation in the northern states with adults on the wing from mid-July to mid-September. Possibly a much wider flight season and an additional generation in the extreme southern U.S.
Food
Adults occasionally visit umbellifers and other similar-structured flowers. Nests are provisioned with Lycosid spiders.
Remarks
Like all Ageniellini, they sever the legs of their prey to accommodate transport:

This photo shows either an aberrant A. accepta or (less likely) an undescribed species
Works Cited
1.Phylogenetic species delimitation for the widespread spider wasp Ageniella accepta (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae), with new synonyms
Waichert C., Wilson J.S., Pitts J.P., von Dohlen C. 2019. Insect Systematics & Evolution.