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// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Pepsis thisbe say? "Bee" happy with cola.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pepsis thisbe
Pepsis thisbe and prey, Riverside County, California, 2024
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Pompilidae
Subfamily: Pepsinae
Tribe: Pepsini
Genus: Pepsis
Species:
P. thisbe
Binomial name
Pepsis thisbe
Lucas, 1895

Pepsis thisbe, also known as Thisbe's tarantula-hawk wasp,[1] is a species of spider wasp in the family Pompilidae.[2][3] Females are 32-44 mm long with a dark blue body and orange wings.[4]

Description

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The females of this species sport curly antennae, while the males' are straight. Males do not have stingers and females have ones about 7mm (¼ inch) in length. Adults are nectarivores (feeding on flower material), but females hunt tarantulas as food for larvae, hence their name. They are found throughout the American Southwest in desert areas.[5]

References

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  1. "Thisbe's Tarantula-hawk Wasp (Pepsis thisbe)". iNaturalist. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  2. "Pepsis thisbe". GBIF. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  3. "Pepsis thisbe species Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  4. Will, Kip; Gross, Joyce; Rubinoff, Daniel; Powell, Jerry A. (2020). Field Guide to California Insects. Oakland, California: University of California Press. p. 454. ISBN 9780520288744.
  5. "Tarantula Hawk (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-14.

Further reading

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  • Vardy, C. R. (2005). "The New World tarantula-hawk wasp genus Pepsis Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae)". Zoologische Verhandelingen.
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  • Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Pepsis thisbe at Wikimedia Commons