What Eats Tarantula Hawks? The Ecological Balance

Tarantula hawks can prey on spiders twice their size, but are their animals or insects that can prey on them too? What eats tarantula hawks in the wild? Let’s find out.

One of the largest and most frightening wasps in the world, Tarantula Hawks are vicious predators of tarantulas twice their size.

These wasps have developed a lot of fascinating defense mechanisms that enable them to be almost predator free. However, there are a few exceptions that do eat them.

Let us talk about these defenses and the few predators that are able to beat them.

Why Are There So Few Predators of Tarantula Hawks?

In line with nature’s law, any living being will try to avoid getting eaten by a potential predator, especially something bigger in size.

Thus, these spider wasps have also developed defense mechanisms.

The size of tarantula hawks and their terrifyingly painful sting are major reasons why they have few predators.

They are also great at communicating to their attacker that they are risky, a phenomenon known as aposematic communication.

Use of Color

Colors are one of the various forms of signals that tarantula hawks use to ward off predators.

Adult tarantula hawk wasps use bright color patterns like red-yellow-orange on their wings to warn their predators. This is called aposematism and is visible in many insects.

It is a message to the predators to stay away from a bad fight. They can see the color from a long distance and choose not to engage.

Movements

Tarantula hawks act out jerky movements, somewhat like dancing bees, flicking their wings when they are in the air.

These movements help predators know that they are around, and the color lets them know that they are dangerous.

This is a way for larger predators to avoid hurting them by mistake.

Warning Sounds

Tarantula hawks are also capable of communicating through sounds. They use their wings to make a strong buzzing sound at a high pitch.

These sounds let predators in the vicinity know that a big wasp is nearby and can put up a good fight.

Odor

One of the final warning signs for tarantula hawks is their ability to emit a specific odor.

The wasps release small amounts of chemicals that spread over a long distance and can be picked up by animals with a strong sense of smell.

Unlike humans, most potential wasp predators have a strong olfactory sense and will be able to know where the tarantula hawks are.

Painful Sting

If you have been unfortunate enough to have been stung by a tarantula wasp, you have endured one of the worst insect bites of nature.

Female tarantula hawk sting contains a lot of venom that causes immediate and blinding pain. This is the same venom that paralyzes tarantulas.

The wasps also use their sting as a defense mechanism. But the effect of the venom differs for each victim.

On mice, the venom of the common species of tarantula hawk has lethal levels, but for larger vertebrates, it only causes pain.

The female wasps use their sting as the last resort of protection from their predators.

With all of the above ways to prevent themselves from getting into fights, tarantula hawks live life almost predator free.

What Are the Natural Predators of Tarantula Hawks?

Roadrunners and bullfrogs are the two predators who dare to attack tarantula hawks despite all their defense mechanisms.

So if you are trying to get rid of these wasps, introducing bullfrogs in your surroundings could be a plan.

Unfortunately, bullfrogs are usually found around water, near ponds with a lot of vegetation.

They do not go into dry or desert areas where tarantula wasps are found. These wasps are most common in South America, even though they are found in the United States in Texas and Utah.

Bullfrogs can attack the wasp with their large tongues, often swallowing them whole.

Roadrunners are aggressive in nature, so they can catch these wasps with one swift motion without getting stung.

Kingbirds are also one predator that can catch tarantula wasps.

Robber Fly Mimics Tarantula Hawks To Avoid Predators

Creatures mimicking more powerful ones for protection is a common phenomenon in nature.

With the tarantula hawk being so successful at avoiding predators, it is natural that it invites such mimicry.

One insect that uses the characteristics of tarantula hawks is Wyliea mydas, more commonly known as the Robber fly.

Robber flies have bright orange wings, just like tarantula hawks, which are usually the first warning sign for most predators.

But robber fliers can also go one step ahead. The fly has a proboscis but not stingers. However, it deceives its predators by making stinging motions with its genitalia.

Most predators take this stinging motion and bright colors as warning signs and stay out of this fly’s ways.

They might also mistake the fly for tarantula wasps and move on to hunt others.

Frequently Asked Questions

Wrap Up

It is true that tarantula hawks do not have many predators out in the wild. They are dangerous because of their size and ability to sting.

But it is also true that if not provoked, these solitary wasps can be gentle giants moving around flowers.

So if you watch your step and look out for the shiny wings, you can easily co-exist with the wasps in your garden.

Thank you for reading!