© 2011 marianne skov jensen. All rights reserved. tarantula hawk

Tarantula Hawk

Here’s another photo from a recent trip to the Desert Museum in Tucson. This is a Pepsis Wasp which is commonly called a Tarantula Hawk. As the name implies, this wasp will swoop in and kill a Tarantula. I’ve never seen it in action but friends have.

22 Dec Filed under Arizona, Fauna, Insects, Macro, Sonoran Desert. Tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

3 Comments

  1. Laura
    Posted December 24, 2011 at 9:27 pm | Permalink

    Tarantula hawks are wonderful pollinators of milkweed. They get right in there and really manipulate those flowers!

  2. Bryan
    Posted January 5, 2012 at 8:59 am | Permalink

    I have to say, it’s less of a “swoop in” and more of an epic battle. I’ve seen it several times, and it takes some time for the wasp to get under the tarantula and take care of business.

  3. marianne
    Posted January 5, 2012 at 9:38 am | Permalink

    Thanks to you both for that additional information!