If you see a large wasp in your garden, it is natural to be afraid. In this article, we explore how to get rid of spider wasps and whether you should even try to do it.
If you are scared of giant flying insects, then you should take cover before a spider wasp starts chasing you around!
One of the more common nectar-feeding insects in your garden, spider wasps, are black and golden in appearance.
These insects are one of the approximately 5,000 species of wasps. If you are scared of giant insects, you should take cover before a spider wasp starts chasing you around.
In this article, let us learn more about these wasps and how you can get rid of them.
What are Spider Wasps?
Spider wasps belong to the family Pompilidae, similar to yellow jacket hornets.
They are black wasps, sometimes with orange stripes on their abdomen. You can easily identify these spider-hunting wasps by their wings which are dark orange in color.
The wasps have large hind legs, and they use their short front legs to dig holes in the soil.
One of the most famous species of spider wasp is the “tarantula hawk,” which preys on tarantulas almost twice their own size.
Most spider wasps live in the United States and some in South America. The largest species has the name Matacaballos or “horse-killer.”
Are Spider Wasps Harmful?
Spider wasps are both harmful and beneficial in some ways. The sting of spider wasps is one of the most painful stings in the world.
It can cause severe swelling and pain, which might last for a few hours.
On the other hand, they control the spider population in your garden and protect your plants from them. They are also pollinators who help spread pollen far and wide.
Spider Wasp Stings
If they feel threatened in their natural environment, spider wasps will sting! However, usually, they are nonaggressive insects.
These wasps are solitary in nature, so they don’t have any colonies to protect, which is why they aren’t as aggressive as yellow jackets or other wasps.
Their sting can be very painful, but it is not too much to worry about. They are not poisonous to humans, so the swelling or redness is likely to recover by itself in a few days.
However, in case of an allergic reaction, you should seek immediate medical attention.
While we are on the subject of wasp stings, the best thing idea is to keep away from these winged threats, especially if you encounter a tarantula hawk.
Tarantula hawk wasps cause the world’s second deadliest sting. It is blindingly and excruciatingly painful, leaving the human nothing writhing and screaming in pain.
Don’t believe us? Watch for yourself.
Damage To The Yard
Female wasps make their nests in the soil. They create tiny holes in the ground where they lay their eggs.
While these may cause some damage to the soil, it is not something to be worried about much.
Spider wasps are mostly beneficial insects because they control spiders in the garden.
They are not social wasps, so they do not colonize areas of the garden; hence there is no risk of an infestation.
It is probably not necessary to control their population if you only have one or two of them in your garden because this solitary insect is probably doing more good than harm.
Are They Aggressive?
Spider wasps are solitary wasps who are not aggressive by nature. But like any other creature, they will sting if you threaten them.
As long as you maintain your distance, these wasps are not aggressive.
How To Control Spider Wasps
If you are trying to control spider wasps in your garden, here are some things you can do:
First of all, try to spray water throughout the garden with a hose. The water turns the soil muddy, and these wasps don’t like to make nests in muddy soil.
Do not use pesticides on spider wasps because the deposits can harm other beneficial insects like honeybees, who may carry them back to their hives.
If a spider wasp makes its way into your house, there is nothing much to do except let it find its way out.
You could try swatting them with a shoe or fly-swatter, but make sure to run away at the first sign of trouble.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do spider wasps nest?
Spider wasps nest in the ground. The female spider wasp digs a small hole, lays eggs, and then seals the nest with a pebble or sand.
Spider wasps are solitary and do not live in colonies like other wasps.
They usually make their nests in soil, rotten wood, tree trunks, or crevices in rocks.
Are spider wasps beneficial?
Spider wasps are beneficial insects since they hunt spiders and keep them away from plants.
Normally, these wasps live a quiet, solitary life in the garden and do not require any kind of pest control.
These wasps aren’t garden pests since they feed on the nectar from flowers and are excellent pollinators as well.
How painful is a spider wasp sting?
Even though scientists around the world have studied
the pain from wasps stings, it is still a matter of perception.
The most common pain reaction of a spider wasp sting has been described as excruciating, causing instant pain to the victim.
However, once it is taken care of with ice or an ointment, the swelling will go down in a few hours.
Where do wasp spiders live?
Common spider wasp species are native creatures of North America and are one of the most common garden insects.
These wasps live among flowers and plants, hovering around them and hunting for prey. They nest in the soil, on rotten trees and cracks that they find.
Final Words
Spider wasps might not be your favorite thing to encounter in the garden, but they can be your friends.
These wasps help in pollination and keep your plants safe by killing off unwanted spiders.
Control of the wasps may be important for your safety, but if it’s only one or two wasps, you might not have to do anything about it since they are not aggressive.
Thank you for reading!
Reader Emails
Spider wasps leave behind pain and suffering in their wake! Well, not quite, but its best not to have them around if you have pets and children in your home.
Lots of our readers who have spotted them in their homes have asked us to identify these bugs and what to do about them.
Please read some of these letters below!
Letter 1 – Tarantula Hawk and Sand Wasp from Puerto Rico
Spider wasp, also from Vieques
Hi LA and D,
Here’s a spider wasp (Tachypompilus ignitus) that we also came across on Vieques last month. They are seen flying all over the island, looking in flight like hefty, slower dragonflies. No questions this time; just an image to share. Any luck with that thick-waisted wasp/bee/robber fly guy below? …we’re also including a much closer crop of the beach wasp photo that we sent
the same day.
Thanks again!
Jim and Sandy
NYC
 |
 |
| Spider Wasp | Sand Wasp |
Hi Jim and Sandy,
Thanks for sending us your Spider Wasp image taken in Puerto Rico. The other wasp is a Sand Wasp, also known as a Digger Wasp, in the genus Bembix. Sand Wasps nest in shallow tubes and the female supplies the larvae with flies and other insects. Your photo shows her dragging a fly into the nest.
Corrections: The following corrections were provided by Eric Eaton (02/12/2007)
“The spider wasp from Puerto Rico is almost certainly a species of Pepsis, NOT Tachypompilus….the sand wasp is possibly not a Bembix species, either, but I don’t think you can tell conclusively from images alone… Eric” This correction would mean that the Spider Wasp is one of the Tarantula Hawks.
Letter 2 – South African Spider Wasp: Tarantula Hawk???
Giant Wasp
Mon, Mar 2, 2009 at 6:42 AM
Location: South Africa, Western Cape, Near Malmesbury (Swartland, West Coast)
Weather: 38 Degrees Celsius in the shade, 44 in the sun. No wind. No clouds.
Looks: It has the typical wasp body, only much more bulky as opposed to slender, its really HUGE! Probably 5-6cm when straight. The whole body is black. The tentacles (or radars, what ever it might be called) are dark orange about 1mm thick and spirals once. The eyes are about 3mm wide. The wings and legs are also the same dark orange as the tentacles. The stinger, when pushed out fully is probably about 8mm long, very thin and curves slightly (it looks as it might be a very painful sting). The wasp did seem kind of clumsy. It made a lot of noise when flying. Wingspan, probably about 3.5-4cm. That’s it, I think.
I’ve lived in the western cape and have never seen a WASP come even close to the size of this big boy.
Mr?
South Africa, West Coast
Dear Mr?
This is a Spider Wasp in the family Pompilidae. It bears an uncanny resemblance to a North American Tarantula Hawk in the genus Pepsis. According to Wikipedia, there are Tarantula Hawks in Africa. The sting of a female Tarantula Hawk is reported to be one of the most painful of all wasp stings.
Letter 3 – Spider Wasp: Entypus unifasciatus
KY: Black wasp with showy yellow antennae
August 26, 2009
This wasp has been around my house for the past few weeks, but its the first time I’ve ever seen this species anywhere. It looks significantly larger than the common red wasp here. Reminds me of a tarantula hawk but maybe slightly smaller. I looked through pictures of the local spider wasps but couldn’t find a match–looks more similar to that one from Australia except the wings look darker. Has very quick, jerky movement and exhibits wing shaking or flickering. It appears to be foraging for possibly other insects the way it is crawling all over these vines in the picture. It is very aggressive and has chased and pursued me hundreds of yards–so I’m lucky to have finally snapped these pictures at a safe distance. Body is completely black, Wings are black and s hiny with brown terminal ends, and the antennae are slightly mustard yellow and can curl. The passionflower with the posterior view is exactly 1″ from base to top (excluding the spikes on top of the bud) for scale, but I can’t tell if the wasp is forshortened by perspective due to its angle because it “looks” longer than that to me. It’s a different bud than the one with the side view of the wasp–I wasn’t able to find that bud again.
I’m not too crazy about this thing because of its aggressiveness, but I’d like to know more. If it is invasive or dangerous I might try to eradicate it, but if it is something rare or less dangerous that it looks, I might try to leave it be!
Jeff
Louisa, KY, USA
Dear Jeff,
We are excited to be getting photos of a magnificent new species for our website. You are correct that this is a Spider Wasp in the family Pompilidae. The species is Entypus unifasciatus and it doesn’t have a common name. BugGuide has a considerable amount of information on this species.
BugGuide indicates: “Life Cycle There is one generation per year. Males emerge first. By late August/early September most females are worn. By mid- to late September most female are very worn, with most of the apical area of the wing being tattered away. Life cycle probably more drawn out in far south, but there is very little difference. Most individuals do not persist into October. … Parasitoid of spiders, including wolf spiders (Lycosidae). … Females dig a burrow that ends in a terminal chamber off of the side of a mammal burrow or large crack in the ground. The serrations on the hind tibiae are used to aid the movement of soil out of the burrow entrance. The position in which the egg is laid is unknown. Larvae feed on one large spider and, as in all Pompilids that have one generation per year, overwinter as pupae.” We hope knowing a bit about this magnificent wasp will keep you from trying to eradicate it.
Letter 4 – Spider Wasp
Strange fly with Curly Q Antenna
November 18, 2009
This bug was witnessed in our office this afternoon walking across a desk. Another person in the office said that they saw it earlier and it flew away. I was fascinated by the antenna, which I hope you can see in the picture, as the ends of them do almost a 360 degree loop, like a curly q. If you could give us any help identifying it, that would be great!
Eric
South Florida, right on the ocean, about 50 yards from the beach.
Dear Eric,
This is a Spider Wasp in the family Pompilidae though we don’t even want to attempt to try to identify the species. Spider Wasps, as their name implies, prey upon spiders. Adult wasps feed on pollen and nectar, but the helpless young are carnivorous. The female Spider Wasp captures spiders and paralyzes them with her sting. She then lays an egg on the spider and the young wasp has fresh paralyzed living meat rather than a dead dried out spider to feed upon. According to BugGuide, the following are family characteristics of Spider Wasps:
“Typically dark colored with smoky or yellowish wings; a few are brightly colored.
Slender with long and spiny legs, hind femora typically extending beyond tip of abdomen.
Tibiae of rear legs have two prominent spines at apex (distal end, next to tarsi)
Wings not folded flat on top of abdomen.
Mesopleuron with a transverse suture (see this image).
Like the Vespidae, the Pompilidae have the pronotum extending back to the tegulae, the pronotum thus appearing triangular when viewed from the side and horseshoe-shaped when viewed from above.” In your photo, the spines on the rear legs are visible.
Letter 5 – Tarantula Hawk from Puerto Rico
metallic blue wasp orange antennae
Location: Maricao, Puerto Rico
January 27, 2011 11:10 am
I saw this wasp in my home land Puerto Rico (January 2011), which I have never seen it before. Hard to estimate the size since I am going by memory, but it was at least 1 inch.
My best guess from browsing images is a blue mud dauber. Coul you please confirm the ID?
Thanks, Raul
Signature: Raul
Hi Raul,
We believe this is a Spider Wasp in the family Pompilidae (see BugGuide), but we are unable to find anything online that matches. We did not have much luck finding any references to Wasps from Puerto Rico either. The closest we could find on BugGuide is the genus Entypus, and though we could not find any images, we did find some references that the genus is found in Puerto Rico. We will continue to research this.
Confirmation from Eric Eaton
LOL, Daniel 🙂
Yes, definitely a pompilid, but might even be a Pepsis. …
More later.
Eric
http://bugeric.blogspot.com/
Letter 6 – Probably Spider Wasp from Australia
butter-bee
Location: melbourne, australia
March 7, 2012 6:47 am
I suspect a butterfly and bee cross bred to create a beautiful mutant..i am however no expert. I found it on my car and got as close as i could to take a photograph without it noticing me.
Signature: brittany
Dear Brittany,
We wish you photo showed more details. At first we thought that this was a Wasp Moth or Clearwing in the family Sesiidae, that mimic stinging wasps for protection, but now we believe this really is a Spider Wasp, Cryptocheilus bicolor, a species that preys upon Huntsman Spiders.
Letter 7 – Spider Wasp from South Africa: Java caroliwaterhouse
Subject: South African Flying Insect
Location: Nature’s Valley, Western Cape, South Africa
June 20, 2012 3:17 pm
Here’s a lovely bug from the South African Cape. We’d love to know what it is.
Signature: Luis
Hi Luis,
We are nearly certain this incredibly gorgeous insect is a Spider Wasp in the family Pompilidae, but we cannot find any photos online to support that supposition. Perhaps one of our readers will have better luck with a species identification.
Update: November 19, 2015
While researching a new Spider Wasp submission from Namibia, we discovered this iSpot image that supports our identification, but alas, it is only identified to the family level Pompilidae.
Update: August 11, 2017
While researching the identity of a Spider Wasp image from Egypt, we stumbled upon these images of Java caroliwaterhouse on Wasp Web. where it states: ” Females hunt and paralyze large spiders such as Rain Spiders (Palystes).
Letter 8 – Ichneumon
Subject: Red wasp with bright blue wings
Location: Loon Lake, CA — near Tahoe in El Dorado National Forest, very close to the lake
September 2, 2012 12:01 pm
This bright, beautiful little critter completely surprised me – I’ve never seen anything quite like this! I’d love to know what it was.
Signature: Christy
Hi Christy,
We are nearly certain that this is a Spider Wasp, Tachypompilus unicolor, though some details are difficult to discern in your photograph. The wasp appears to be searching the ground, which is a major factor in our identification as Spider Wasps hunt spiders in this manner, especially since they prey upon Wolf Spiders to feed their young. You may refer to BugGuide for additional information, including that the preferred habitat is : “Varied, but they are usually found in open habitats.”
I really appreciate the ID! Yes, it was down on the gravel-y ground, a few feet from the lake in one direction, and about 20 feet from a pine forest the other direction. I only saw it on the ground for about a minute, and then it flew away.
Thanks,
-Christy
Update: June 4, 2020
Based on comments that have been submitted, we are correcting this posting, identifying the insect as an Ichneumon.
Letter 9 – Possibly Spider Wasp
Subject: Red wasp? Puple-blue wings
Location: Northeast Texas
July 11, 2013 12:55 pm
Hi! Thanks for reading, its a very commendable service you offer to us regular folks who know nothing about bugs. I live in Northeast Texas (Hopkins County) and I am no stranger to the red wasp, and have been stung so many times I can identify them in my sleep. We were INFESTED with them last year and I had an exterminator come at the beginning of the year and thankfully I have not seen any of the typical red paper wasps that we have (the meaner than hell boogers). Now for some reason, we are infested outside with these! They look like a red wasp, but they are faster, have bluish wings and like to crawl on the ground a lot. They don’t seem to be as aggressive as the paper wasp, but I haven’t given them much of a chance to chase me, but they seem more like the aggression of a dirt dauber because they don’t just stalk you down with the intent to kill. What are they?
Signature: Texas lady
Dear Texas lady,
We believe this is a Spider Wasp in the family Pompilidae. We will do additional research.
Update: July 12, 2013
We believe this might be a member of the genus Tachypompilus based on photos posted to BugGuide.
Letter 10 – Spider Wasps from Namibia
Subject: Big black wasp in Namibia
Geographic location of the bug: Windhoek, Namibia
Date: 02/04/2018
Time: 12:30 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: We came across a bush that had 20 – 40 large black wasps feeding on it – they were stunningly beautiful and made a ‘helicopter’ sort of sound. There were many other types of wasps/bugs as well but these ones were just huge. I’d love to find out what they were and read up on them.
How you want your letter signed: Fiona L
Dear Fiona,
We are uncertain of the species, but we are quite confident these are Spider Wasps in the family Pompilidae. As your image indicates, adults are frequently found nectaring on flowers including milkweed, and the female preys upon spiders which she paralyzes and then drags to her underground burrow where the immobile, but still living Spider becomes food for the larva that hatches from the egg she lays on the Spider. There are some nice images of a female Spider Wasp and her prey on Africa Geographic.
Hi Daniel
Thank you so much. I have now done a bit of reading on these things and feel privileged to have been so close to so many of them at once. Poor spiders though!
Fiona
Thanks! I live in California and I like to visit my friends in South Africa as often as I can. I told them this looks similar to our tarantula hawk.
And the Tarantula Hawk is a Spider Wasp, so we are in agreement. There are many similar looking Spider Wasps in Australia which shares closely related species with South Africa. The large Spider Wasps in Australia prey on Huntsman Spiders and there are large Huntsman Spiders in South Africa. This is all circumstantial, but it supports the Spider Wasp identification.
Although I am not an expert, I am certain that you have got your identification of this insect correct. In the last half hour we have just seen this insect hauling a paralysed rain spider that was at least the same size as itself at incredible speed across the ground outside our house. Although it is beautiful, it also appears that the insect has one of the most painful stings of any insect on the planet.
Thanks for your verification of our identification. We will remove the uncertainty from the title of the posting. We wish you had taken a photo. This truly is a gorgeous Spider Wasp and we would love to know the species.
Sorry – just realised that it would be useful to add a location. I live 20 minutes drive away from the Numbi Gate at the south end of the Kruger National Park in South Africa.
Hello, I was looking online to find this type of wasp and this was the only page I found with the species that looks like this. I also saw this exact wasp several months ago near Wilderness South Africa, also eating some kind of spider. I was with a few locals and they said that the wasp is apparently highly venomous/poisonous, and from what I read about spider wasps it sounds like it fits the bill.
Thanks for all the information.
-Nicolas
As a point of clarification, the adult Spider Wasp does not prey upon spiders to eat, but rather the female provisions a nest for her young with Spiders. Adult Spider Wasps, both males and females, feed upon nectar and they can often be seen at flowers that produce quantities of nectar, including milkweed. We still have not identified the species name for this beautiful Spider Wasp. We wish you were able to provide additional images.
So I just found one of these spider wasps in San Diego, CA. He’s a little way from home I think.
Representative of the Spider Wasp family Pompillidae are found in most parts of the world.
I found this website in my quest to identify a similar bug I saw today. Unlike Jeff’s, mine was longer–about an inch–and narrower. Its body was completely black–no brown tips on the wings, which were also narrower. It had bright yellow antennae which were arched but not curled. This insect was rummaging around garden foliage, flying from one plant to another in similar quick, jerky movements. This one was not aggressive as I could view it closely. Sadly, no camera handy.
This Ichneumon popped into our minds, but it has dark wings.
I Know these two species very well. The first one, Pepsis marginata(Tarantula Hawk) and the second ,Stictia signata, a Sand Wasp from the same family of the Bembix americana.
Thanks so much for the correct identification on this very old posting.
Pepsis ruficormis, one of three confirmed Tarantula Hawks from Puerto Rico.
Thank you for the identification of this Tarantula Hawk.
I found today the same black and blue body with black tip orange wings wasp dying by my laundry. Normally I see different types of spiders crawling around back there, even tarantulas so now it makes sense to me. But I was stunned & curious about it since I had never seen one before, so I took a few pictures with my cell. Hoped I could upload it for ya….
You may submit images using the Ask What’s That Bug? link on our site, but we have been out of the office for a few days and we are behind in responding to submissions, so please wait a few days.
I had the scary experience of seeing everyday how it was looking for food or a nest area. Yesterday it dragged a rain spider into the area infront of my office window. My boss made the mistake of accudentally walking past it. It literally went for him. Luckily he had jeans on. In the process of stomping his feet to get it off him, he stepped on it. It was dark brown in colour, orange wings, quite a fattish segmented body of aproximately 5cm in length. This was in Ferndale, Ranburg on 17/02/2016, temperature about 33 degree celcius
I have a photo of the same species from central Puerto Rico and also cannot find a better identification.
I found the exact same bug, but in Chile
http://i.imgur.com/azssHJI.jpg
I found the exact same bug, but in Chile
http://i.imgur.com/azssHJI.jpg
One stung me on the ear today and it hurt. Never took that long to get over a sting after taking a benadryl. Made my lower jaw and part of my head hurt.
I have one like Jeff’s with yellow antennae and yellow brown wing tips. I’ve only seen one but it on my hummingbird feeders. The birds seem to ignore it but give it some distance. I don’t care to find out aggressive it is. I live in Augusta, Georgia.IMG_0048.JPG
On 28 Nov ’16, we saw a huge blue wasp at the Baboon Spiders’ burrows. It was late afternoon past 17;30 and hot… We immediately went and chased it off. It came back a few times and we had difficulty in chasing it off completely. In the meantime we found a Baboon spider laying on her back, and a few babies around her. We rescued them and took the mommy spider with. I posted this on FB at The Spider Club of Southern Africa. We were told it was a spider hunting wasp that paralyzed the mommy. It took a lot of research before I could identify the wasp as a Hemipepsis Tarantula Hawk (sub specie unknown). Unfortunately I didn’t take a photo of it that day, but I remember what it looked like as it was huge and blue and the very first time I saw one of these over here..and well never again I may add. For interest sake, I took the mommy spider and started rehabilitation on her. The babies are back at the burrow. She was completely paralyzed, but has since recovered to a stage where she walks again and eats. If interested, she has her own FB page : https://www.facebook.com/spiderangel/?ref=page_internal
Thanks for letting our readership know that given time, Spiders that have been paralyzed by Spider Wasps may recover.
Does some sub species of the spider wasp have completely black wings with yellow feelers only?
This Tarantula Hawk pictured on BugGuide is colored as you describe.
This beast was on my roof here in Dawsonville, Ga. Growing up in Atlanta, I never saw so many strange creatures until I moved to the country. It is almost two inches long, black wasp body (as we have lots of those around), rust colored antenna (about an inch long) and rust tips on the wings. It totally creeped me out. This is a first sighting for me. Side note: I stopped taking the top off of my Jeep when we moved here because of so many strange, large insects that like to ride along with me in my Jeep. Eww. Thank you for this valuable website!
I saw a metallic blue wasp just now, about 5-6 cm long, dragging a paralyzed/dead baboon spider with it. Location: Komatipoort, Mpumalanga, approximately 10 km from Mozambiquean border, right next to Kruger Park. It was kind of clumsy, and made a lot of noise. It also kept on flying a few feet, then returned and dragged the baboon spider there. Could be because it was dragging the baboon spider backwards. It was very aggressive and kept buzzing and arching it’s sting at me. I followed it to a hollow under a tree stump, wich it entered and didn’t come out. I assume it will lay eggs in the spider or eat it, so it is most likely a female. I have seen quite a few of them, but never this big or aggressive.
Yup! I had one dragging a large spider across driveway! I have pics if interested.
Yes we are. Please submit images by using the Ask What’s That Bug? link on our site.
Hi Chris,
Frank is requesting any images you have of your Spider and its prey. We don’t believe they were ever sent to our site.
Please contact Frank at: [email protected]
Saw one today in Greenville SC dragging a large recluse-like spider, I got close and it quickly jumped all over my legs before taking an aggressive stance between me and it’s quarry. I didn’t hang around long to further provoke it.
We wish you had gotten an image since we have none on our site of this spider and its prey. It is our understanding that they prey on Wolf Spiders as in this BugGuide image.
This specimen has an ovipositor so definitely isn’t a spider wasp but an ichneumonid wasp.
The image lacks critical detail. We suspect that is a stick on the ground and not an ovipositor.
Bugman,
Any chance of seeing the photos of Entypus unifasciatus dragging large spider noted by Chris (August 7, 2017) and Jesus (August 8, 2018). We are doing a host selection paper on this species of wasp, which captures both wolf and fishing spiders in the eastern US and would like to identify the spiders. Thank you.
We don’t have any images as they were never sent to our site.
In reference to the August 22, 2018 photo of Entypus unifasciatus from Oklahoma City, OK by “Stephanie,” the host spider is Syspira sp. (Prowling spider)(Miturgidae). Of 414 host records for this species of wasp, this is the first host record (1/414, 0.02%) for this family of spider. We do, however, have the same genus and family host record for the congener Entypus aratus from Mexico. We should like to acknowledge “What’s That Bug” and Stephanie for this extremely rare and highly unusual host record. Does Stephanie have a last name to accompany this record in our forthcoming publication on spider wasps? Thank you. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for this information Fran, and also for the compliment. Is it possible for you to post this comment to the actual posting to which you refer?
I have photos and a video of a spider wasp dragging a wolf spider. Where can I send the photos and video to? I’m watching it as I type now.
you may submit images by using the Ask WTB? link on our site.
Maggie, Send images of spider wasp and wolf spider to me and I may be able to name it for you. Geographic location and size are very important in my identification. Thank you. Frank [[email protected]]
Frank, I encountered this spider wasp yesterday in my yard in Western Maryland. I managed to get pics and video of it wrestling and dragging off a spider of matching size. Comment here if you’re interested in seeing the footage and I will email it to you.
Bugman, Do you have an email address for Jose R. Medina? I want to ask him a question about a spider wasp species from Puerto Rico. Thank you. Frank E. Kurczewski.
This posting is almost 9 years old. We do not maintain email records that far back.
Hello, I think Jon is correct. I’ve had a few of these about this Autumn probing around the lawn attempting to lay eggs in lawn grubs. Probably Lissopimpla excelsa
Thanks for the comment. We will update the posting.
I have photos and video of a spider wasp that I ventured across today. It was dragging a spider across my yard that we had recently dug up a bit. I live in Western Maryland and have come across some strange bugs in my day but this was definitely the creepiest wasp I’ve ever encountered. Email me if you’d like me to share the footage. And thanks for the id on this beautiful beast.
I caught a winged ant of some kind. It has curled up antenna. How do I send you a picture for identification?
I can offer more photos of this wasp. I live in the BVI and seam to see them around May annually.
The sting is really painful.
On my bucket list is to visit the Namib Desert. I live in the Sonoran Desert region in Phoenix, AZ, USA. As a boy I would go into the desert to find the desert iguana and would come across the succulent looking desert milkweed; which also is a virtual airport of flying insects coming and going. I would typically come across on a milkweed our Pepsis Wasp, which is a dead ringer for its Namib cousin – big, black beauty. Common name is tarantula hawk wasp. Its does the same thing to our big spider. Wings that make a loud beating sound that cause you stop and look, some might be in fear. The only difference in appearance is our wasp has bright metallic orange wings and the Namib species are bright metallic blue. I planted a desert milkweeds in my front yard and when it flowered recently I was favored by a tarantula hawk in the neighborhood. Amazing animal!
I took pictures of several of these here in NC. I had never seen one before and had no clue what it was until finding this page. Thank you for the info. The ones I saw in my yard were huge. I got up close and personal trying to get pictures and now I wish I hadn’t because I’m highly allergic to anything that stings. I had no clue it was a type of wasp. The orange antenna is what got to me because they were so unusual.
In one of my close up pictures, the under side of the wings, on the tail of the body, it’s a really pretty blue. Is that normal?
I live in Puerto Rico and also came across this beautiful insect while hiking my backyard in El Yunque National Rainforest. I have a great video on my public Instagram if anyone is interested – https://www.instagram.com/p/CkhP93LNF6V/