Hemipepsis tamisieri is a species of afrotropical pepsid spider wasp, one of the so-called tarantula hawks because its preferred prey are tarantulas of the family Theraphosidae.

Hemipepsis tamisieri
Hemipepsis tamisieri with its prey, a baboon spider (Theraphosidae).
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Pompilidae
Genus: Hemipepsis
Species:
H. tamisieri
Binomial name
Hemipepsis tamisieri
(Guérin, 1848)[1]
Synonyms[1]
  • Mygnimia distanti Saussure, 1892
  • Pompilus tamisieri Guérin, 1848
  • Priocnemis rufopictus Radoszkowski, 1876
  • Salius rufopictus Radoszkowski
  • Salius tamisieri (Guerin, 1848)

Distribution

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This wasp has been recorded from Uganda, Ethiopia, Angola, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, but is probably widespread in Africa south of the Sahara.[2]

Biology

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The adults feed on the nectar of various flowers, many of which are specialised to be pollinated by this species and its cogeners.[3] The females hunt on the ground for spiders of the family Theraphosidae[4] and rain spiders of the genus Palystes which are paralysed with the female's sting to provide a food for the wasp's larva.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Hemipepsis tamisieri (Guerin, 1848)". GBIF.org. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  2. ^ "Taxonomy for Hemipepsis tamisieri (Guérin, 1848)". insectoid.org. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  3. ^ Shuttleworth, Adam; Johnson, Steven D. (2012). "The Hemipepsis wasp-pollination system in South Africa: a comparative analysis of trait convergence in a highly specialized plant guild". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 168 (3): 278–279. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2012.01216.x.
  4. ^ Gess, Sarah K.; Gess, Fredereich W. (2014). "Wasps and Bees in Southern Africa" (PDF). SANBI Biodiversity Series. 24.
  5. ^ "Hemipepsis tamisieri Guérin". Waspweb. Iziko Museums of South Africa. Retrieved 2016-12-12.