The Tarantula Hawk

No, this picture is not some obscure National Geographic find, it is actually one that my sister took while working at a country club in Arizona. As she drove along a cart path she saw this bug dragging a tarantula across the ground. Before today we though tarantulas were scary enough, but check out this bug that took it down! It turns out this red winged predator is actually a tarantula hawk. My sister’s picture inspired me to do a little bit of research of my own and what I found out is interesting, unbelievable, and totally creepy.

Tarantula Hawk

This image actually features a female tarantula hawk. This type of spider wasp has a very interesting way of reproducing. A female adult goes out hunting for big hairy tarantulas. When they find one, they sting it. This action paralyzes the tarantula. One it is incapacitated, the bug drags the tarantula back to it’s burrow.

Once the tarantula is down in the hawk’s nest, the wasp lays an egg on the abdomen of the tarantula and then covers it up. When the larva hatches from the egg, the larva actually creates a hole in the abdomen and enters the spider’s body to feed. Over the next few weeks the larva eats everything in sight, except for the vital organs that keep the spider alive. Once it has reached adult size, it emerges from the tarantula and the tarantula dies.

Only the female spider wasps hunt in this way. The males find mesquite trees, soapberry trees, and milkweeds to eat from and leave the spider hunting up to the females. Your best chances of seeing one of these creepy critters in action is on hot summer days.