Genus Pepsis
1.5 inches long
Tarantula Hawks paralyze their prey, bury them, lay eggs, and then the wasp larvae feed off the spider.
I was trying to photograph a spider on sunflowers by Promontory Point, Utah when this HUGE female
Tarantla Wasp came zooming in. I had never seen any of these up close and personal so I was hesitant about
getting too close for fear she might be crabby. This one let me take a few shots and then did a false charge.
I backed off a little and then moved in to take more shots. Suddenly she charged again and I might have put up
a fight if I hadn't been so darn busy flailing my arms and shouting expletives while trying to osmose through
my locked car door. I could swear I saw her smirking as she quietly departed. © Carol Davis, 8-30-2009
Home - Insects and Bugs of Utah
Other Home - Amazing Nature