Hunting wasp
Bearing this in mind, and that each of the superfamilies under discussion includes families other than those listed here, families that are in no way hunting wasps, consider the following, consulting the links and references for detailed discussion of the biology:Although it had long been realised that bees were in essence a natural grouping of wasps that fed primarily on nectar and pollen, it took the development of molecular biology to demonstrate the actual grouping of true bees with the following families of definitive hunting wasps.These cockroach wasps are a popular example of a primitive mode of hunting wasp behaviour; they do not build a secure nest for their prey plus its egg, but conceal it in the most convenient crack or burrow, in which respect their behaviour resembles that of some of the Bethylidae.A very large family with varied habits and a wide range of prey species. Crabronid species in some taxa concentrate on flies, others on bees, others on cicadas, but the overwhelming majority build tunnels, whether single or branched, with one or more larvae inside.These are a widely varied family, including the digger wasps and mud daubersThese are generally large wasps that hunt subterranean insects, usually beetle larvae. Commonly they do little to conceal the paralysed prey, but lay the egg on it underground.Another large and varied family. They include the social wasps such as paper wasps and hornets. These are hunting wasps in the sense that they hunt animal food, generally insects, but they do not subtly paralyse them; instead they more or less butcher them and carry the most nutritious portions back to the colony to feed the young progressively. Other Vespidae include the solitary potter wasps, that are classical examples of hunting wasps of the kind that build their nests out of mud. The Masarinae or pollen wasps are the major exception in the family in that they do not hunt at all, but instead feed their larvae pollen and nectar, as many members of the superfamily Apoidea do.
Poecilopompilus algidus
Observations of the nominate subspecies in southern Florida showed that the female wasps hunted in the late afternoon and that they actively hunted within the scrub and trees at heights of between 3m and 20m. The wasps hunted by actively walking on the surface of the vegetation, intermittently flicking their wings but stayed in the outer layers of leaves and did not enter into deeper cover. The only prey observed as an adult female "Eriophora ravilla" which the wasp had placed in vegetation 8 cm above the ground, while the wasp excavated a burrow 1.2m away. The burrow was excavated in bare sand among dried pine needles, the wasp used her mandibles to break the crust on the surface of the sand, and then used her forelimbs to excavate the looser sand, which was removed by the wasp backing out to a distance of 10–13 cm. Her digging activities got faster as she neared completion of the burrow, occasionally interrupting her efforts to inspect and move the prey. To move the prey it was dragged backwards over the ground and under the vegetation while the wasp held it by the base of the hind femur. before placing the spider in the nest she carried out further excavation and appeared to line the nest with dried pine needles which she carried into the burrow, then the spider was grabbed by its chelicerae and dragged into the burrow. The wasp then backfilled the burrow with loose sand using its forelegs and once the burrow was filled it appeared to tamp the sand down with its abdomen before place pine needles over the now buried nest.