Orange Spider Wasp (with spider)

Description:

The Orange Spider Wasp is a large, strikingly coloured wasp from Australia, and is a common sight in Australian backyards during the summer months. Females can reach up to 35mm in length. The head, legs and antenna are black and orange-yellow in colour, with dark brown to black thorax and eyes . The wings are orange brown colour and there are the broad orange bands on the black abdomen. This wasp is a predator of the Huntsman Spiders and Wolf Spiders. In this photo series, the prey is a large female Tent Spider (Cyrtophora moluccensis), a species very common in my garden. Orange Spider Wasps are solitary and don’t build up large numbers. They nest alone, generally in a burrow in the ground - not in a colony like other wasps. The female catches spiders of various kinds as food for her larvae. She stings the spider to paralyse it and then usually drags it into her burrow where she lays an egg on it. When the larva hatches, it starts to eat the still living spider. When mature, the larva pupates to emerge as an adult the next summer.

Habitat:

They are found all over mainland Australia and Tasmania, in all habitats including suburban gardens.

Notes:

I've seen these wasps on occasion in my garden. I don't recall if this wasp actually returned to retrieve the spider. As the description says, they would normally take the spider back to the burrow. I've uploaded these photos simply because this event took place in my garden. I've done some general editing, but full credit goes to my friend Nathan Faldt. He's a very talented photographer who doesn't appreciate his own skills, and these are his pics.