Family POMPILIDAE

Museums

Museum list

Regional Maps

Family POMPILIDAE

Compiler and date details

July 2012 - Michael G. Elliott, Australian Museum, 6 College Street, Sydney, NSW, 2010

Introduction

The Pompilidae are represented in Australia by about 260 described species with at least this number yet to be recognised. Varying in size from small (3 mm) to large (35 mm) wasps, pompilids are characterised by a straight transverse suture (groove) that divides the mesopleuron, the legs long and agile, and the fore wing not folded longitudinally at rest. In addition, many species have bright or contrasting colour patterns with black and orange, or black, white and grey markings. These colours are indicative of mimicry patterns that also involve other families of Hymenoptera.
Pompilids are predatory wasps that are often referred to a ‘spider wasps’ because of their obligate use of spiders as food for their developing larvae. They are common in coastal and arid habitats where they paralyse a single spider and either oviposit on it in the spider's burrow or remove the spider to their own previously constructed burrow. The spider remains immobile and is consumed by the wasp larva. Pompilids are rarely prey-specific but many specialise in collecting web-building species versus flower spiders, ground-hunting species or tunnelling spiders. One genus, Epipompilus, feeds on spider eggs.

Taxonomically, this is a very difficult group and although some genera have been revised, there is no available guide to the Australian fauna. Harris (1987) and Day (1988) provide comprehensive reviews of biology and other aspects of the group.

Jennings & Austin (2015) list 4 unidentified species from Lord Howe Island in the Australian Museum.