The red-tailed spider hunter (''Tachypompilus unicolor'') is a species of spider wasp from western

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

Description

Especially in the subspecies ''T. u. cerinus'', the body is often entirely red, with yellow, dark-margined wings.

Distribution

It is found in Southern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, including the northern

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

and the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

, north to the Okanagan Valley, southern

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, eastwards through southwestern

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

to western

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

and northern

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

Biology

Adults of ''T. unicolor'' feed at honeydew secretions and flowers. Females have been captured at honeydew from

galls Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants, fungi, or animals. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to be ...

of '' Disholcapsis eldoradensis'' on '' Quercus lobata'' and at flowers of '' Asclepias erosa'', ''

Baccharis sarothroides ''Baccharis sarothroides'' is a North American species of flowering shrub known by the common names broom baccharis, desertbroom, greasewood, rosin-bush and groundsel in English and "escoba amarga" or "romerillo" in Spanish. This is a spreading ...

'', ''

Chrysothamnus ''Chrysothamnus'', known as rabbitbrush, rabbitbush, and chamisa, are a genus of shrubs in the family Asteraceae. The native distribution is in the arid western United States, Canada, and northern Mexico. It is known for its bright white or yell ...

'' sp., '' Lepidospartum squamatum'', and '' Wislizenia refracta''. Males have been taken on the flowers of ''

Calochortus catalinae ''Calochortus catalinae'' is a species of Calochortus, mariposa lily known by the common name Santa Catalina mariposa lily.

'', '' Hemizonia fasciculata'', '' Rhamnus californica'', and ''

Xanthium spinosum ''Xanthium spinosum'' (also known as ''Acanthoxanthium spinosum'') is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by many common names, including spiny cocklebur, prickly burweed and Bathurst burr. This species is part of the genus '' ...

''. Both males and females visit the

extrafloral nectaries Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to anim ...

of ''

Helianthus ''Helianthus'' () is a genus comprising about 70 species of annual and perennial flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae commonly known as sunflowers. Except for three South American species, the species of ''Helianthus'' are native to ...

'' and have been collected at flowers of ''

Atriplex semibaccata Atriplex semibaccata, commonly known as Australian saltbush, berry saltbush, or creeping saltbush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a perennial herb native to Western Australia, South ...

'', '' Cicuta'' sp., ''

Eriogonum fasciculatum ''Eriogonum fasciculatum'' is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names California buckwheat and flat-topped buckwheat. Characterized by small, white and pink flower clusters that give off a cottony effect, this species grows vari ...

'', ''

Eriogonum gracile ''Eriogonum gracile'' is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name slender woolly buckwheat. Distribution The annual plant is native to California, where it is widespread across the state except the deserts, and to parts of Baja Cali ...

'', and ''

Foeniculum vulgare Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalize ...

''. The flight period in California is from May to October, with a peak in July and August.

Subspecies

*''T. u. cerinus'' Evans in the eastern part of the species range *''T. u. unicolor'' Banks, distinguished by darker, often violaceous wings and having the

mesosoma The mesosoma is the middle part of the body, or tagma, of arthropods whose body is composed of three parts, the other two being the prosoma and the metasoma. It bears the legs, and, in the case of winged insects, the wings. In hymenopterans of t ...

frequently being partially black, predominantly in the males, western part of the range

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q28431675 Insects described in 1919 Pompilinae Hymenoptera of North America Taxa named by Nathan Banks