Tachypompilus ferrugineus (Say)

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 : 20-22

Tachypompilus ferrugineus (Say)

MARYLAND: Baltimore County, Freeland; 28 August 2022, 1619 EDT; C. Campbell. Host: Amaurobius ferox (Walckenaer) ( Amaurobiidae ), adult female. The wasp grasped the black lace weaver by its right pedipalp with her mandibles, dorsal side upward, and dragged it backwards across crushed rocks and dried leaves ( Campbell 2022).

This is the first host record for T. ferrugineus for the family Amaurobiidae of ~3000 Western Hemisphere host records (Kurczewski, pers. obs.). Amaurobius ferox is usually found near man-made structures. The host spider prefers dark areas, such as underneath logs or inside cellars, and often lives in moist, shaded crevices underneath stones or dilapidated walls. Tachypompilus ferrugineus frequently nests in openings in man-made structures ( Kurczewski 2022a).

NEW YORK: Kings County, Brooklyn, Greenwood Heights; 17 August 2022; 1354–1414 EDT; M. Wills. Host: Tigrosa helluo (Walckenaer) ( Lycosidae ) [det. G. B. Edwards], subadult female and juvenile. The first wasp pulled the much smaller T. helluo backwards up and over a 1.5 m-high tombstone and disappeared into a shrub behind it. She grasped the spider by it right fore patella with her mandibles while retaining it dorsal side upward throughout the transport. This wasp was twice the body length of the juvenile spider. Twenty minutes later and 70 m away, another wasp attacked and stung a much larger T. helluo of equal size, ~ 20 mm long. She stood on her mid- and hindlegs, positioned her entire abdomen underneath her head and thorax, and stung the spider several times in the underside of its abdomen. The spider staggered away in partial paralysis, probably because it was stung in its abdomen instead of the usual place, in the underside of the cephalothorax near the leg bases. The wasp flew away as the spider continued to walk around in a sluggish manner ( Wills 2022a, b, c, d).

Tigrosa helluo ( Lycosidae ) is not a new host record for Tachypompilus ferrugineus (Kurczewski et al. 2022) . However, the observations of the wasps and host spiders were so unusual that they were deemed recordable. Kurczewski (1989) reported on an aggregation of T. ferrugineus that was capturing wolf spiders and nesting underneath an upright cemetery monument in Oakwood Cemetery, Syracuse, NY.

NORTH CAROLINA: Stokes County, Meadows; 12 August 2023; 1920 EDT; C. Hicks. Host: Agelenopsis naevia (Walckenaer) ( Agelenidae ), adult male. The wasp grasped the grass or funnel-weaver spider by its left or right pedipalp with her mandibles and dragged it backwards across mostly barren ground ( Hicks 2023).

This is the first T. ferrugineus host record for Agelenidae from the eastern United States. Agelenidae is a very rare host spider family for T. ferrugineus . We are aware of only five Agelenopsis ( Agelenidae ) host records of ~3000 total host records for this Western Hemisphere spider wasp species, all others being from the western U. S. and Mexico ( Kurczewski et al. 2022a, pers. obs.).

VIRGINIA: Henrico County, near Richmond; 21 July 2022, 1056 EDT; A. Harris. Host: Agelenopsis Giebel , Calilena Chamberlin and Ivie , or Melpomene O. Pickard-Cambridge sp. [det. R. Bradley], adult or subadult female. The wasp grasped the grass spider by its right pedipalp with her mandibles and, maintaining it dorsal side upward, dragged it backwards across the ground, stones, pavement, and dried leaves ( Harris 2022).

This is only the second agelenid host record for T. ferrugineus from the eastern United States of ~3000 host records for this spider wasp species (Kurczewski, pers. obs.).

BRAZIL: Rio de Janeiro State, Itatiaia County; 9 November 2011. 1220 PM; P. Romano, Host: Enoploctenus cyclothorax (Bertkau) ( Ctenidae ) [det. R. Bertani], adult or subadult female. The wasp grasped the left pedipalp of the wandering spider with her mandibles and, maintaining it dorsal side upward, pulled it backwards across a concrete patio or sidewalk ( Romano 2011).

This is the third host record for Enoploctenus cyclothorax of ~3000 total host records for Tachypompilus ferrugineus in the Western Hemisphere. Both males and females of E. cyclothorax are captured ( Kurczewski 2022b).

BRAZIL: Santa Catarina State, Garopaba County; 20 January 2023, 1647 PM; L. Zanella. Host: Phoneutria keyserlingi (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge) ( Ctenidae ), adult female. The wasp examined the immobilized armed spi- der with her antennae from several different positions as it laid on the sand dorsal side upward. She attempted to drag the very large spider backwards across the ground, dorsal side upward, by grasping its left chelicera or left pedipalp with her mandibles. She may have been unable to transport the much larger spider because of its overwhelming size and weight as it continued to lie on the sand ( Zanella 2023).

There is one other host record for Phoneutria keyserlingi by Tachypompilus ferrugineus in Brazil ( Kurczewski et al. 2022a). The genus Phoneutria Perty is a predominant host genus of T. ferrugineus in Brazil (Kurczewki et al. 2022a).

ECUADOR: Pastaza Province, Pastaza Canton; 27 November 2004, 1116 AM; S. H. BrØndum. Host: Sadala? rufa (Keyserling) ( Sparassidae ), adult or subadult female. The wasp walked backwards up a tree trunk, grasping the left pedipalp of the huntsman spider with her mandibles while retaining it in a dorsal side upward position ( BrØndum 2004).

Sadala? rufa ( Sparassidae ) is a new host genus and species for T. ferrugineus . Tachypompilus ferrugineus is polyphagous in host selection, capturing mainly lycosoid spiders ( Lycosidae , Pisauridae , Trechaleidae , Ctenidae ) and, rarely, other cursorial hunting spiders. Sparassidae constituted the host family for T. ferrugineus in only 36 (1.6%) of 2300 host records ( Kurczewski et al. 2022a).

MEXICO: Chihuahua State, Satevó Municipality; 5 July 2022, 1936 MDT; R. Torres. Host: Olios giganteus Keyserling ( Sparassidae ), adult or subadult female. The wasp grasped the immobilized huntsman spider by its left pedipalp with her mandibles and, retaining it dorsal side upward, walked backwards across a concrete ledge ( Torres 2022).

Sparassidae is an uncommon host spider family for T. ferrugineus in northern Mexico and is the first such record from the State of Chihuahua ( Kurczewski 2022a). There is one record of Olios giganteus as host spider of T. ferrugineus from south-central Texas and several records from central and southern Mexico ( Kurczewski et al. 2022a).

MEXICO: Colima State, Comala; 1 March 2023; C. Joel. Host: Selenops actophilus Chamberlin ( Selenopidae ), adult or subadult female. The wasp straddled the wall crab spider, venter to dorsum, and stung it near its right chelicera and pedipalp. She dismounted and walked around the paralyzed spider, periodically examining it with her antennae, as it laid dorsal side upward on the ground ( Castillo 2023).

Selenopidae is a highly unusual host spider family for T. ferrugineus ( Kurczewski et al. 2022a) . This is only the second record for this spider family of ~3000 T. ferrugineus host records (Kurczewski, pers. obs.).

MEXICO: Michoacán State, Morelia; 2 July 2022, 1840 CDT; M. Riensche. Host: Zorocrates fuscus Simon ( Zoropsidae ), adult or subadult female. The wasp grasped the immobilized false wolf spider, dorsal side upward, by the tibia of its left foreleg and pulled it backwards across bare soil and a sidewalk ( Riensche 2022).

Previous records for Zorocrates fuscus as host spider of T. ferrugineus from Mexico are from the States of Guanajuato, México, and Oaxaca ( Kurczewski et al. 2020, 2022b).