Ageniella (Ageniella) cupida (Cresson)

Kurczewski, Frank E., West, Rick C. & Waichert, Cecilia, 2024, New host records for Nearctic and Neotropical spider wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae), Insecta Mundi 2024 (34), pp. 1-32 : 15-16

Ageniella (Ageniella) cupida (Cresson) species-group

ARKANSAS: Faulkner County, west of Conway; September 2022; H. Raney. Host: Coras sp. ( Agelenidae ), penultimate male, with all appendages intact. The wasp grasped the immobilized grass spider by the base of its right chelicera, dorsal side upward, with her mandibles and walked forward. She may have used her wings to assist in the forward thrust. She paused, dismounted, and examined the spider with her mouthparts and antennae ( Fig. 5 ; Raney 2022).

Coras Simon is a new host genus for species in the Ageniella cupida species-group. Ageniella norata has been reported previously with a juvenile female of Agelenidae with all legs amputated at the coxa-trochanter joints ( Kurczewski et al. 2020).

GEORGIA: Whitfield County, west of Dalton ; 22 August 2022, 1728 EDT; L. Dasher. Host: Coras sp. , adult or subadult female, with all appendages intact. The wasp grasped the grass spider by the base of its left chelicera with her mandibles and, straddling it dorsal side upward, walked forward. She used her wings to assist in the forward thrust and in short forward flights ( Dasher 2022).

This is the second host record of Coras sp. ( Agelenidae ) for Ageniella cupida species-group. The method of prey transport of both spiders was identical.

Figures

Figures 1–6. Pompilid species with host spiders. 1) Calopompilus pyrrhomelas (Walker) with Eucteniza?panchovillai Bond and Godwin (Euctenizidae), adult female. © Miguee Sykes. 2) Pepsis cassiope Mocsáry with Ancylometes bogotensis (Keyserling) (Ctenidae), adult or subadult female. © Hilde Vandevoorde. 3) Priocnessus nuperus (Cresson) with Rabidosa punctulata (Hentz) (Lycosidae), adult or subadult female. © Rachel Miller. 4) Auplopus comparatus (Smith) with Macrinus sp. (Sparassidae). © Christian Marty. 5) Ageniella (Ageniella) cupida (Cresson) species-group with Coras sp. (Agelenidae), penultimate male. © Herschel Raney. 6)?Aridestus bergi (Holmberg) with unidentified host species (Theraphosidae, Theraphosinae), immature.© Antonino Gonçalves Medina.