Tarantula Hawk Wasp Size Comparison

It is metallic blue black in color with blue black or yellow orange wings edged in black.

Tarantula hawk wasp size comparison. The tarantula hawk wasp has one of the most painful stings of all wasps. The tarantula hawk is known to paralyze tarantulas with a single sting that is described by humans as blinding fierce shockingly electric. It lives just about anywhere from india to southeast asia africa australia and the u s. The stinger is equipped with some of the most potent paralyzing venom in the animal.

At up to 2 1 2 inches in length it is one of the largest wasps. Tarantula hawks have dark blue iridescent bodies bright orange wings and long legs. Once paralyzed the helpless tarantula is brought back to the tarantula hawk s burrow. A tarantula hawk is a spider wasp pompilidae that preys on tarantulas tarantula hawks belong to any of the many species in the genera pepsis and hemipepsis they are one of the largest parasitoid wasps using their sting to paralyze their prey before dragging it to a brood nest as living food.

A single egg is laid on the prey hatching to a larva which eats the still living prey. They re about the same size as european hornets and thus smaller than asian giant hornets and more black than yellow. Thought the pain only lasts 3 to 5 minutes on humans. The compound eyes and ocelli are dark brown and the antennae are dark brown with orange scapes.

Tarantula hawks can deliver a sting that is very painful to people but downright paralyzing to tarantulas. The head of the hornet is orange and quite wide in comparison to other hornet species. To add more agony to the fate of the unfortunate tarantula it is usually buried alive still paralyzed with some tarantula hawk wasp eggs. Its body length is approximately 50 mm 2 in its wingspan about 76 mm 3 in and it has a 6 mm 0 2 in sting which injects a large amount of potent venom.

Males have straight antennae females have curly antennae. On justin schmidt s sting pain index the tarantula hawk ranks the highest among north american insects. The tarantula hawk wasp can grow up to 2 inches in length. So while they might look unassuming they pack a punch.

Strikingly handsome with orange wings and blue black bodies tarantula hawks are ranked as having one of the most painful insect stings in the world. For pain the asian giant hornet would win on the 3. Tarantula hawks are large wasps. When it locates a potential victim the tarantula hawk attacks with claws sharp mandibles and huge sharp stinger.

The tarantula hawk flies low along the ground in search of spiders. It s a huge wasp that stalks huge prey.