First records of the spider wasp Entypus ochrocerus Dahlbom (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae: Pepsinae) from the continental United States, Jamaica, and the Bahamas

Abstract

A small population of Entypus ochrocerus Dahlbom, a predominantly Greater Antilles spider wasp (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae: Pepsinae), is reported for the first time from the continental United States based on photographs and associated information from iNaturalist.org. The species was initially misidentified online as E. unifasciatus unifasciatus (Say) or Entypus sp. However, Entypus u. unifasciatus individuals from east of the 100th Meridian in the U. S. typically have melanochromatic (dark) wings with a subapical xanthochromatic (orange-amber) patch. Entypus ochrocerus from Miami-Dade County, Florida is differentiated from E. u. unifasciatus by its black body with dark greenish blue reflections and orange-amber forewings with narrow basal and rather broad apical infuscation. Entypus ochrocerus was photographed at 13 sites in a \~60 sq mi (155 sq km), heavily urbanized area of the Miami Ridge/Atlantic Coastal Strip Level III Ecoregion characterized by moderately deep, well drained, rapidly permeable soils on coastal sand ridges with scrub vegetation. The capture of Hogna carolinensis (Walckenaer) (Araneae: Lycosidae) as host spider by E. ochrocerus in Florida confirms similar host capture behavior of H. ?reducta (Bryant) in the Dominican Republic. We also introduce the first records of E. ochrocerus from the island of Jamaica based on 15 pinned museum specimens from various Jamaica localities. Photographs of E. ochrocerus and associated information from East Grand Bahamas, Grand Bahama Island represent the first definitive evidence of this species in the Bahamas. Every major island group in the Greater Antilles plus Miami-Dade County, Florida, USA, has a population of E. ochrocerus.

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