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Scientific Name
Auplopus spp.
Family
Pompilidae (spider wasps) in order Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps)
Description
North America's 10 species of spider wasps in genus Auplopus are black wasps, usually with a bluish or turquoise sheen. Most species have reddish or honey-colored legs. There are at least three Auplopus species with all-black legs; these are very hard to tell apart.
Auplopus spider wasps typically snip off the legs of the spiders they capture, which makes them easier for these rather small wasps to lug around. They usually prey on sac, ground, crab, nursery web, or jumping spiders. They craft mud cells for their young to develop in.
Learn more about these and other spider wasps on their group page.
Size
Length: to about ½ inch.
Habitat and Conservation
Most common in wooded areas. Females sometimes build their mud cells in the exterior cracks of foundations of homes. Adults take nectar from flowers.
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Media Gallery
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Caption
There about 10 North American spider wasp species in genus Auplopus. Members of this genus prey on sac, ground, crab, nursery web, or jumping spiders. They often snip off the legs of captured spiders, which makes them easier to move around. They typically craft mud cells for their young to develop in.
Credit
Susan Ellis, Bugwood.org
Right to Use
Use of this image is restricted to MDC only
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Similar Species
About Land Invertebrates in Missouri
Invertebrates are animals without backbones, including earthworms, slugs, snails, and arthropods. Arthropods—invertebrates with “jointed legs” — are a group of invertebrates that includes crayfish, shrimp, millipedes, centipedes, mites, spiders, and insects. There may be as many as 10 million species of insects alive on earth today, and they probably constitute more than 90 percent all animal species.