Pepsis pallidolimbata Lucas

Kurczewski, Frank E., West, Rick C., Waichert, Cecilia, Kissane, Kelly C., Ubick, Darrell & Pitts, James P., 2020, New and unusual host records for North American and South American spider wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae), Zootaxa 4891 (1), pp. 1-112 : 12

Pepsis pallidolimbata Lucas

CA: Kern County, Randsburg ; 19 July 2018; M. Eastwood (thecmlegend). Host: Aphonopelma cf iodius, adult or subadult female. The wasp pulled the paralyzed tarantula backwards across the ground, dorsal side upward, grasping the base of its right foreleg with her mandibles ( Eastwood 2018) .

CA: San Mateo County, Los Altos , Rancho San Antonio County Park ; 16 September 2016 , 1105 (PDT); T. Fein. Host: Aphonopelma cf iodius, adult male. The wasp turned the tarantula onto its back and stung it in the underside of its cephalothorax ( Fein 2016) .

CA: Santa Clara County, Cupertino, Montebello Road, Picchetti Ranch Open Space Preserve; 13 September 2015; T. L. Hammond. Host:? Calisoga sp. (Tube trapdoor spider) ( Nemesiidae ), adult or subadult, with abdomen and right rear leg detached and lying on the ground. The spider might have been mutilated by the adult wasp for feeding, by two adult wasps fighting over its possession, or by foraging ants that frequently amputate and carry off body parts. This observation does not support successful development of the wasp larva if an egg is laid on the spider’s abdomen. Nonetheless, the wasp dragged the mutilated tarantula backwards on the ground, dorsal side upward, grasping the middle of its right foreleg with her mandibles ( Hammond 2015).

NM: Grant County, Pinos Altos; August 2010; J. Huff. Host: Aphonopelma cf gabeli Smith , adult or subadult female. The wasp dragged the paralyzed tarantula on the ground, dorsal side upward, grasping the base of its left foreleg with her mandibles (J. Huff, NJ, 2019 pers. comm.).

MEXICO: Tamaulipas State, Reynosa , 1 km S of Santa Librada; 15 May 2020; Y. Z. Sandoval. Host: Aphonopelma moderatum , adult or subadult female. The wasp dragged the paralyzed tarantula backwards on the ground, dorsal side upward, grasping the base of its left foreleg with her mandibles (Sandoval 2020) .