Ethology of Anoplius tenebrosus (Cresson) (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae)
Alm, SR.; Kurczewski, FE.
Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 861: 110-119
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0013-8797 Accession: 015736841
A. tenebrosus (Cresson) has 1 generation/year. Females and males emerge in mid-summer in New York, USA. The males die within a few weeks of mating. After mating, females feed on flowers, especially goldenrod, and dig overwintering burrows in the ground in late summer and fall. They reappear during the 1st warm days of spring and nest in sandy areas bordered by woodlands. Females of A. tenebrosus hunt and capture a variety of errant spiders, especially Lycosidae, and store 1 spider in a shallow, single-celled nest. The prey is cached either on a low plant or on the ground during burrow construction. Transport of the spider to the nest is always backwards on the ground, the wasp usually holding the base of the prey's hind leg with the mandibles. The spider is pulled into the nest by its spinnerets. The wasp's egg is placed obliquely on the venter of the spider's abdomen. A. viaticus (L.), a related Palearctic species, has almost identical behavior as A. tenebrosus.