Pepsinae

Afrotropical Pepsinae (Tarantula hawks)

(Life: Kingdom: Metazoa (animals); Phylum: Arthropoda; Class: Hexapoda; Order: Hymenoptera; Superfamily: Vespoidea; Family: Pompilidae)

	Cryptocheilus Panzer, 1806
	Cyemagenia Arnold, 1946
	Cyphononyx Dahlbom, 1845
	Dichragenia Haupt, 1950
	Deuteragenia Sustera, 1913
	Guichardia Arnold, 1951
	Hemipepsis Dahlbom, 1844
	Paraclavelia Haupt, 1930
	Poecilagenia Haupt, 1927
	Priocnemis Schiødte, 1837
	Protoclavelia Arnold, 1932
	Pseudagenia Kohl, 1884
	Schistonyx Saussure, 1887
	Tetraodontonyx Ashmead, 1900
	Trachyglyptus Arnold, 1934
	Xenopepsis Arnold, 1932

Distribution	Worldwide.
Biology	Females hunt a variety of spiders with the larger pompilids targeting Baboon spiders (Theraphosidae) and Rain spiders (Palystes). The paralysed spiders are dragged to a pre-excavated burrow, where they lay an egg on the spider. On hatching the larva feeds on the preserved prey item. Species of Hemipepsis are important specialist pollinators of a diverse assemblage of African plants.
References	Johnson SD. 2005. Specialized pollination by spider-hunting wasps in the African orchid Disa sankeyi. Plant Systematics and Evolution 251: 153–160. Johnson SD, Ellis A, Dötterl S. 2007. Specialization for pollination by beetles and wasps: the role of lollipop hairs and fragrance in Satyrium microrrhynchum (Orchidaceae). American Journal of Botany 94: 47–55. Ollerton J, Johnson SD, Cranmer L, Kellie S. 2003. The pollination ecology of an assemblage of grassland asclepiads in South Africa. Annals of Botany 92: 807–834. Shuttleworth A, Johnson SD. 2006. Specialized pollination by large spider-hunting wasps and self-incompatibility in the African milkweed Pachycarpus asperifolius. International Journal of Plant Sciences 167: 1177–1186. Shuttleworth A, Johnson SD. 2008. Bimodal pollination by wasps and beetles in the African milkweed Xysmalobium undulatum. Biotropica 40: 568–574. Shuttleworth A, Johnson SD. 2009a. A key role for floral scent in a wasp-pollination system in Eucomis (Hyacinthaceae). Annals of Botany 103: 715–725. Shuttleworth A, Johnson SD. 2009b. The importance of scent and nectar filters in a specialized wasp-pollination system. Functional Ecology 23: 931–940. Shuttleworth A, Johnson SD. 2009c. Specialized pollination in the African milkweed Xysmalobium orbiculare: a key role for floral scent in the attraction of spider-hunting wasps. Plant Systematics and Evolution 280: 37–44. Shuttleworth A, Johnson SD. 2009d. New records of insect pollinators for South African asclepiads (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae). South African Journal of Botany 75: 689–698. Shuttleworth A, Johnson SD. 2009e. Palp-faction: an African milkweed dismembers its wasp pollinators. Environmental Entomology 38: 741–747. Shuttleworth, A. & Johnson, S.D. 2012. The Hemipepsis wasp-pollination system in South Africa: a comparative analysis of trait convergence in a highly specialized plant guild. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 168: 278–299. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2012.01216.x Steiner KE, Whitehead VB, Johnson SD. 1994. Floral and pollinator divergence in two sexually deceptive South African orchids. American Journal of Botany 81: 185–194.
Credits	Photographs © Simon van Noort (Iziko Museums) or © Felicity Grundlingh or © Duncan Butchart.

Web author Simon van Noort (Iziko South African Museum)

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