What is Tarantula hawk?
{{Taxobox | name = Tarantula hawk | image = Tarantulawasp.jpg | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Arthropoda]] | classis = [[Insect|Insecta]] | ordo = [[Hymenoptera]] | subordo = [[Apocrita]] | superfamilia = [[Pompiloidea]] | familia = [[Pompilidae]] }} The '''Tarantula hawk''' is a type of [[spider wasp]] which hunts [[tarantula]]s as food for its [[larvae]]. The Tarantula hawk is any type of spider wasp which is in the genera ''[[Pepsis]]'' and ''[[Hemipepsis]]'' in the family [[Spider Wasp|Pompilidae]] (spider wasps). == Description== Most species of Tarantula hawks are around 5 cm (2 inches) long, making it the largest type of [[wasp]]. They usually have a blue-black body and reddish-orange wings, but some have black wings. The color on their wings tells predators that they are dangerous ([[aposematism]]). They have long legs which have hooked claws that are used for grabbing their prey. The sting of a female Tarantula hawk can be as long as 7 mm long; the stinger is said to be the second most painful [[insect]] sting in the world. == Behavior== When a female Tarantula hawk finds a tarantula it stings and paralyzes the tarantula. Then the wasp drags the tarantula to her burrow or takes it to a specially made nest, where it lays a single egg on the tarantula's abdomen. Once the egg hatches the larva makes a hole in the tarantula's abdomen. It then crawls into the tarantula and feeds on the insides. After a few weeks the larva pupates. After a while the wasp turns into an adult and comes out of the tarantula's abdomen. Tarantula hawks are also nectarivores, meaning they eat the [[nectar]] of [[flower]]s. Unlike the females, males do not hunt at tarantulas. Instead they feed on the nectar of flowers of [[milkweed]]s, western soapberry trees, or mesquite trees, which the females also feed on. == Where they live== Tarantula hawks are found in [[India]], southeast [[Asia]], [[Africa]], [[Australia]] and the [[Americas]]. In the Americas they can be found as far north as [[Salt Lake City]], [[Utah]] in the [