Entypus unifasciatus californicus (Townes)

Kurczewski, Frank E., West, Rick C. & Waichert, Cecilia, 2024, New host records for Nearctic and Neotropical spider wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae), Insecta Mundi 2024 (34), pp. 1-32 : 13

Entypus unifasciatus californicus (Townes)

MEXICO: Baja California Sur State, La Paz; 17 September 2022, 0925 MDT; C. Lim. Host: Olios giganteus Keyserling ( Sparassidae ), adult or subadult female. A series of photographs shows the wasp (1) atop the dorsal side upward giant crab spider in a stinging posture; (2) examining the immobilized spider with her antennae as it lies, dorsal side upward, on the ground surface; and (3) dragging the spider, dorsal side upward, backwards across the ground, grasping its right chelicera with her mandibles ( Lim 2022).

This is only the second record of an Entypus unifasciatus californicus - Olios giganteus host association from the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. Sparassidae is a rare host family (3.1%) for Entypus unifasciatus ( Kurczewski et al. 2022a) .