danielle_quintos 的最愛

Thisbe's Tarantula-hawk Wasp (Pepsis thisbe) foraging on 7'-8’ tall native Rush Milkweed (Asclepas subulata) flowers. Link to host plant observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/75316215
Link to another observation with better photos: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/194701246

Thisbe's Tarantula-hawk Wasp (Pepsis thisbe) is in the Spider Wasps (Pompilidae) family and in the New World Tarantula-hawk Wasps (Genus Pepsis). It is a solitary wasp that captures and paralyzes prey. The body is dark blueish-black with metallic reflections. It has long, spiny legs. The first two segments of the abdomen are narrow, giving the body a slender look. Wings are orange and folded together giving it a narrow profile from above. The pronotum is triangular when viewed from the side and horseshoe-shaped when viewed from above.

"Pepsid Wasp Genera Wing Comparison" Diagram, Copyright © 2012 Ken-ichi Ueda.
Comparison of wing venation patterns from some similar pepsid genera: https://bugguide.net/node/view/703332

BugGuide: https://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Pepsis+thisbe