Tachypompilus ferrugineus affinis (Banks)

Kurczewski, Frank E., West, Rick C., Waichert, Cecilia & Pitts, James P., 2022, Additional new and unusual host records for Western Hemisphere spider wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae), Insecta Mundi 2022 (928), pp. 1-32 : 14-16

Tachypompilus ferrugineus affinis (Banks)

BRAZIL: Espírito Santo State, Alfredo Chaves; 14 March 2021, 0734; A. Fraga. Host: Caayguara sp. (Sparassidae) , adult or subadult female. The wasp dragged the immobilized huntsman spider backwards, dorsal side upward, through grasses, onto a patio, and across the top of a low retaining wall, grasping the spider’s right pedipalp with her mandibles (Fraga, Alfredo Chaves, Brazil, 2021 pers. comm.; De C. C. Alencar, Instituto do Espírito Santo, Vitória, Brazil, 2021 pers. comm.).

BRAZIL: Rio de Janeiro State, Petrópolis, 2nd District of Cascatinha, Bairro Araras; 13 March 2013; A. Rabello Pereira. Host: Phoneutria ? keyserlingi (F.O. Pickard-Cambridge) ( Ctenidae ), subadult female. The wasp grasped the immobilized armed spider by the patella of its left pedipalp with her mandibles, dorsal side upward, and pulled it backwards up a vertical stucco wall. The wasp was nesting beneath a house roof (Rabello Pereira, Petrópolis, Brazil, 2021 pers. comm.).

BRAZIL: Rio de Janeiro State, Petrópolis, 2nd District of Cascatinha, Bairro Araras; 29 November 2020, 1738; A. Rabello Pereira. Host: Enoploctenus cyclothorax (Bertkau) (Ctenidae) , adult or subadult female [det. R. Bertani], 15 mm long. The wasp grasped the immobilized wandering spider with her mandibles by the apical patella of its right pedicel and pulled it, dorsal side upward, up the side of a wooden fence and over adobe roof bricks and roof support posts. The wasp with spider in tow pulled the prey vertically up the side of a house to its nest beneath the roof ( Rabello Pereira 2020; Rabello Pereira 2021 pers. comm.).

BRAZIL: Rio de Janeiro State, Petrópolis, 2nd District of Cascatinha , Bairro Araras ; 17 April 2021, 1400; A. Rabello Pereira. Host: Ctenus ornatus (Keyserling) , adult or subadult female. The wasp pulled the immobilized wandering spider backwards across the ground, grasping the base of its left pedipalp with her mandibles ( Rabello Pereira 2021).

BRAZIL: Rio de Janeiro State, Rio de Janeiro Tijuca National Park; 10 February 2021, 1240; R. Dias. Host: Acanthoctenus sp , ( Ctenidae , Subfamily Acanthocteninae ) [det. L. Peralta, Mar del Plata, Argentina and R. C. West], juvenile. The wasp is seen in several photographs feeding on a small, immobilized spider, using her mouthparts to imbibe fluids exuding from the sting puncture(s) on the underside of its cephalothorax as it laid ventral side upward on a leaf. The mandibles are evidently assisting by squeezing the area. This spider is too small, in comparison to the size of the wasp, for use as a host for a developing spider wasp larva. Furthermore, no photograph shows the wasp attempting to transport the spider elsewhere. The wasp flew away and did not return after imbibing fluids from the spider. The 2 nd and 3 rd left legs were cut off at the coxa-trochanter joints at which point there is “bleeding” of hemolymph. There are also droplets of hemolymph on the underside of the cephalothorax, perhaps where the spider was stung by the wasp ( Dias 2021d; Dias 2021 pers. comm).

BRAZIL: Rio de Janeiro State, Rio de Janeiro, Tijuca National Park , Visitor’s Center ; 3 January 2019; R. Dias. Host: Enoploctenus maculipes Strand , adult male [det. A. Brescovit, IBB, São Paulo, Brazil]. The wasp grasped the immobilized wandering spider by the patella of its left pedipalp and, holding it dorsal side upward, walked backwards up the exterior wall of the bathroom building. She could not bypass the window frame and screen and fell to the floor. The wasp was evidently nesting underneath the roof of the building ( Fig. 8 ; Dias 2020) .

BRAZIL: Rio de Janeiro State, Rio de Janeiro, Vargem Grande, Pedra Branca State Park; 18 November 2017; E. A. Ferreira. Host: Polybetes ? pythagoricus , adult female. The wasp examined the paralyzed huntsman spider as it laid, dorsal side upward, on the ground ( Ferreira 2017). This wasp is listed as Tachypompilus sp. in Kurczewski et al. (2020b).

BRAZIL: Rio Grande do Sul State, Osório ; 20 December 2020, 1012; H. Andrades. Host: Phoneutria nigriventer (Keyserling) , subadult female. A series of photographs shows the wasp (1) examining the immobilized armed spider with her antennae and mouthparts extended; (2) standing atop and behind the host spider; and (3) grasping the spider by the patella of its left pedipalp and dragging it backwards up a low concrete retaining wall or curb and over a rebar grate ( Andrades 2020).

BRAZIL: Santa Catarina State, Florianópolis, Armação Beach; 27 November 2010; P. Moura. Host: Unidentified species ( Ctenidae ), adult or subadult female (2). The wasp grasped the paralyzed wandering spider with her mandibles by its left pedipalp as it laid on the ground, ventral side upward, and turned it over. She released her grasp, walked around the immobilized spider, and examined it with her antennae ( Moura 2010). This wasp is listed as Tachypompilus sp. in Kurczewski et al. (2020b).

BRAZIL: Santa Catarina State, Parque Nacional da Serra do Itajaí; 14 April 2009; H. Moli. Host: Phoneutria sp. (Ctenidae) , juvenile female. The wasp maneuvered around and under the wandering spider, as it repeatedly lunged at the wasp on the ground ( Moli 2009). This wasp is listed as Tachypompilus sp. in Kurczewski et al. (2020b).

BRAZIL: Santa Catarina State, Santo Amaro, tropical woodland; 4 March 2015; D. da Cruz Pereira. Host: Unidentified species ( Ctenidae ), adult or subadult female. The wasp pulled the paralyzed wandering spider across large dead leaves, dorsal side upward, grasping its left pedipalp with her mandibles, then up a steep bare incline, across level ground, and over large dead leaves ( da Cruz Pereira 2015). This wasp is listed as Tachypompilus sp. in Kurczewski et al. (2020b).

BRAZIL: São Paulo State, Cofia, Jardim Barbacena ; 8 February 2019, 1629; R. Lazaro. Host: Phoneutria ? keyserlingi, subadult female. The wasp ascended a vertical wall after dragging her prey backwards through dense grasses. She grasped the immobilized armed spider by the patella of its left pedipalp with her mandibles and kept it in a dorsal side upward position ( Lazaro 2019b).

ECUADOR: Azuay Province, Cuenca; 2 February 2019; J. Garcia. Host: Cupiennius coccineus F. O. Pickard- Cambridge ( Trechaleidae ), adult female. The wasp dragged the paralyzed banana spider through low vegetation on the ground, dorsal side upward, grasping its left pedipalp with her mandibles ( Garcia 2019). This host record is listed as Tachypompilus sp. in Kurczewski et al. (2020b).

MEXICO: Guanajuato State, Comonfort; 29 August 2020, 1648; E. Ramírez Rodríguez. Host: Zorocrates fuscus Simon (Zoropsidae) , adult or subadult female. The wasp grasped the immobilized false wolf spider by the patella of its right pedipalp with her mandibles and dragged it backwards, dorsal side upward, across a patio ( Ramírez Rodríguez 2020).

MEXICO: México State, Nezahualcóyotl, Aragon Valley ; 9 November 2021; A. A. Wetland. Host: Zorocrates fuscus , adult or subadult female. Two photos show the wasp dragging the paralyzed false wolf spider across the ground, dorsal side upward, grasping its left pedipalp with her mandibles ( Wetland 2021).

MEXICO: Oaxaca State, San Pablo Etla ( Valles Centrales Region ) ; 9 November 2020, 1751; N. R. Jenzen- Jones. Host: Zorocrates fuscus , adult or subadult female. The immobilized false wolf spider was grasped by the patella of its left foreleg with the wasp’s mandibles and pulled backwards, dorsal side upward, across a patio (Jenzen-Jones, Churchlands , Western Australia , Australia , pers. comm. 2020) .

Figures

Figures 1–8. Pompilid wasps and host spiders. 1) Epipompilus aztecus (Cresson), female, with immobilized Ariadna pilifera O. P.- Cambridge (Segestriidae), adult or subadult female, Ixtapan de la Sal, México State, Mexico. Photograph © Aldo Gómez Benitez. 2) Poecilopompilus decedens (Smith), female, with immobilized Misumena sp. (Thomisidae), adult or subadult female, Jacareí, São Paulo State, Brazil. Photograph © Tomaz Nascimento de Melo. 3) Ageniella (Priophanes) basirufa (Fox), female, with immobilized unidentified theridiid (Theridiidae), adult or subadult female, São Simão, São Paulo State, Brazil. Photograph © José Rubens Lopes. 4) Entypus unifasciatus urichi (Banks), female, with immobilized Phoneutria boliviensis (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge) (Ctenidae), adult or subadult female, Santa Rosa, Bolivar Department, Colombia. Photograph © Jim Steamer. 5) Priocnessus sericeus Dreisbach, female, with immobilized Ctenus sp. (Ctenidae), adult or subadult female, Tena, Cundinamarca Department, Colombia. Photograph © Jorge Nicolás Rozo Pinilla. 6) Poecilopompilus interruptus dubitatus (Cameron), female, with immobilized Misumessus quinteroi (Edwards) (Thomisidae), adult or subadult female, Tilarán, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. Photograph © Ana Pereira.7) Poecilopompilus sp., female, with immobilized Araneus workmani (Keyserling) (Araneidae), adult female, Reserva Ecolólogia Costanera Sur, Puerto Madero, Ciudad de Buenos Aires State, Argentina. Photograph © Milena Llopis. 8) Tachypompilus ferrugineus affinis (Banks), female, with immobilized Enoploctenus maculipes Strand (Ctenidae), adult male, Visitor’s Center, Tijuca National Park, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Photograph © Roger Dias.