''Arachnospila anceps'' is one of the more common spider wasps of western Europe.

Description

''A. anceps'' is a medium-sized, black and red spider wasp.

Distribution

This species is found in northern and central Europe, including most of Britain and Ireland, and in Asia east to Mongolia.

Biology

The flight period is May to September and the species is probably univoltine. A wide range of spiders are taken as prey; the families Lycosidae,

Clubionidae The sac spiders of the family Clubionidae have a very confusing taxonomic history. Once, this family was a large catch-all taxon for a disparate collection of spiders, similar only in that they had eight eyes arranged in two rows and conical anter ...

and

Thomisidae The Thomisidae are a family of spiders, including about 170 genera and over 2,100 species. The common name crab spider is often linked to species in this family, but is also applied loosely to many other families of spiders. Many members of thi ...

have been recorded and Gnaphosidae and

Agelenidae The Agelenidae are a large family of spiders in the suborder Araneomorphae. Well-known examples include the common "grass spiders" of the genus ''Agelenopsis''. Nearly all Agelenidae are harmless to humans, but the bite of the hobo spider (''Erat ...

are also possible prey. The spider is paralysed before being dragged backwards to the nest site where it is hidden on a plant while the burrow is rapidly excavated. It occurs in a variety of habitats and on most soils with the possible exception of heavy clay soils. There are no records of which flowers are visited by ''A. anceps'' for nectar.

References

Hymenoptera of Europe Pompilinae Insects described in 1851 {{apocrita-stub