#Priocnemis

[drhoz]

#2602 - Priocnemis conformis

A medum sized New Zealand-endemic spider wasp, found on the main islands, where it hunts younger mygalomorph spiders. On the North Island, they have red bodies, but on the South Island they have more and more black as you ascend the mountains.

The females will dig up to nine decoy burrows along with the one that actually contains the paralysed spider, and cover the burrows with leaves, twigs, berries and soil.

The robber fly Saropogon extenuatus mimics female P. conformis, eating any males that it successfully deceived.

Arthur's Pass, Aotearoa New Zealand.

[waterbugworks]

Colorado Potato Beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) Parthenice Tiger Moth (Apantesis parthenice), and Spider Wasp (Priocnemis spp.)! My first wasp so far, I couldn't resist the blue. Slowly working myself up to spiders so I can draw them as they deserve! Bugs referenced from INaturalist with photos by brickman and ericgiles respectively, and the Spider Wasp from InsectIdentification.org.

[onenicebugperday]

@intoxicatedinkeep submitted: Heyo! Found this cool bug that "attacked"(landed&tried to go in her hair) my mom! I don't know what it is, and was wondering if you do 😃

Sorry for the kinda bad photos, my mom had stomped on it before i could capture it. The antenna is curled in the second pic because it was curling it itself? It looked like it was using it as a last resort to try and crawl away. 

Found near [removed] USA (please remove city and state) 

Aw :( rip lil friend. But I understand the instinctual reaction your mom had. I'd need closer/clearer photos to ID this fella confidently, but I'm thinking either a thread-waisted wasp, Sphex lucae, or a spider wasp, Priocnemis oregona. They have super similar body shapes and colors. Either way they are solitary and unlikely to sting unless handled roughly.

[crystalkleure]

Stepped on a wasp...

[oddman-the-oldman]

Priocnemis oregona ( a Wasp ) dragging a paralyzed Spider home to meat the children.

Everybody has  to eat someone.

.

Use the two arrows pointing at opposite corners to go full screen if you want to see it then hit escape to come back to tumblr.

[hisj]

#Pompilidae sp. #spiderwasp #spiderhuntingwasp #pompilidwasp #クモバチ科 の一種、未詳 #Celosia argentea #cockscomb #ケイトウ #célosie #Brandschopf #Hahnenkamm ��合わせレベルでの感想でしかないが、Priocnemis irritabilis トゲアシオオベッコウに似ている。アブラムシのような小さな生物を咀嚼しているようにも見えるので、クモバチ科ではない可能性もある。そもそもクモバチ科の成虫が何を餌にしているのかを知らない。 (総社緑地) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGYmNUjgQsF/?igshid=t11ta7lny6p1

[fantabulisticity]

Anyone able to identify this guy? My best guess is this one (Priocnemis, Spider Wasp)

Edit: oh, wow, this vid is WAY crunchier on Tumblr than it is in my phone, LMAO

[Video description: camera shows a wasp with a black head and thorax, red abdomen, and black wings that shimmer an irridescent blue. The wasp runs backwards on the ground through the grass and carries an upside-down brown spider with its legs all curled up -- paralyzed or dead. While I crouch down to show the wasp better, I say, "this is... a wasp... carrying a dead spider. I love those guys. They have the irridescent wings...." A child yells in the background, and I continue, "...so pretty." End video description.]

[drhoz]

The Great ACT-NSW-NZ Trip, 2023-2024 - Te Korowai o Mihiwaka / Orokonui Ecosanctuary

An ecological island reserve set up under Mt Cargill / Kapukataumahaka. Over 300 hectares of forest has been enclosed in mammal-proof fencing, and the site was then bombed with poison baits to kill any still inside the perimeter. It's now the home of  kiwi, various seabirds, kākāriki, South Island kākā, South Island robin, South Island saddleback, kākā, bats, tuatara, jewelled geckos, pūkeko, paradise ducks and a breeding pair of the critically endangered South Island takahē.

Also the home of Aotearoa's tallest known tree, at 82.25 metres (269.8 ft) in height, although it's an Australian species - Eucalyptus regnans.

Some of those I've seen earlier on the trip, but there were also a few introduced species that flew in over the fence - if they wanted to keep insects out they probably would have had to go with the original conservation plan and take a fertiliser factory and turn it into a giant avairy.

Mt Cargill is a remnant of the enormous extinct Dunedin Volcano that forms the bulk of the landscape in the Dunedin area.

[drhoz]

#2603 - Priocnemis sp.

Another spider wasp from Arthur's Pass in the Southern Alps, but entirely black, which I believe rules out P. conformis even at that altitude.

Arthur's Pass, Aotearoa New Zealand