Selenopidae (Arachnida: Araneae), a new host spider family for the spider wasp Tachypompilus ferrugineus (Say) (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae: Pompilini)

Abstract

Four online photographs from Oaxaca, Mexico taken by N. R. Jenzen-Jones and posted on inaturalist.org reveal Selenops sp., probably S. mexicanus Keyserling (Arachnida: Araneae: Selenopidae), as a new host spider species, genus and family for the common and widespread American spider wasp Tachypompilus ferrugineus (Say) (rusty spider wasp). The wasp transported the immobilized spider up an exterior stucco wall of a house, dorsal side upward, walking backwards for 3m to her nest in a gap between the wooden planking and stucco wall beneath the roof, while grasping the femur of its right pedipalp with her mandibles.