Pepsis mildei Stål, 1857

Kurczewski, Frank E., West, Rick C. & Waichert, Cecilia, 2024, New host records for Nearctic and Neotropical spider wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae), Insecta Mundi 2024 (34), pp. 1-32 : 11

Pepsis mildei Stål (black-winged variant)

HONDURAS: Cortes Department, Cusuco National Park (1300 meters); 25 July 2023; L. Díaz. Host: Longilyra sp. (undescribed species) ( Theraphosidae ) [det. S. Longhorn], adult or subadult female. The wasp struggled to drag the paralyzed tarantula across the ground, dorsal side upward, grasping the base of its right pedipalp with her mandibles ( Díaz 2023).

Longilyra Gabriel is a new host record, genus, and species for Pepsis mildei (black-winged variant).

MEXICO: Yucatan State, Merida; 16 January 2023; C. A. Benitez Rosado. Host: Tliltocatl epicureanus (Chamberlin) , adult or subadult female. The wasp approached the partly paralyzed tarantula from its right side as it laid, dorsal side upward, on the ground. She walked over the tarantula , grasped its left hind patella with her mandibles, dragged it backwards for a short distance, and released it on the ground on its left side ( Benitez Rosado 2023).

Tliltocatl epicureanus is a new host species for Pepsis mildei (black-winged variant). Tliltocatl Mendoza and Francke is a common host genus for this black-winged variant of P. mildei in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico ( Kurczewski et al. 2020).