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Project Noah Nature School
Sphex tepanecus
Very large, about the size of a tarantula hawk and often mistaken for one. Note this wasp has a petiolate abdomen (abdomen on a short stalk that joins it to the thorax). Tarantula hawks do *not* have this feature.
Spotted in the garden of a friend's home on a south-facing slope in Sonoran Desert grassland habitat with mesquite and cacti.
Females have an all-black body. Males have a black and RED abdomen.
Spotted on Aug 13, 2011
Submitted on Dec 20, 2012
1 Comment
Simply beautiful.