Kingdom Animalia Suborder Apocrita Family Pompilidae Phylum Arthropoda Rank Species | Class Insecta Superfamily Vespoidea Subfamily Pepsinae Genus Cryptocheilus Order Hymenopterans | |
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Similar Cryptocheilus, Hymenopterans, Pepsinae, Priocnemis, Spider wasp | ||
Cryptocheilus bicolor (orange spider wasp) is a large, strikingly coloured spider wasp from Australia.
Contents
Spider wasp cryptocheilus bicolor
Description
Females can be up to 35mm in length. The head, legs and antenna are black and orange-yellow in colour, with dark brown to black thorax and eyes. The wings are orange brown colour and there are the broad orange bands on the black abdomen.
Biology
This wasp is a predator of the huntsman spiders (family Sparassidae) and wolf spiders (Lycosidae). It paralyses the spider by stinging it in its underside. The prey is then and dragged to a burrow, dug by the female using shovel-like hairs on its front legs. The wasp then lays an egg on the spider, and conceals the nesting chamber at the end of the burrow. When the grub hatches it feeds on the spider before pupating in a thin silky cocoon in the cell.