Northern Range Extension of Psorthaspis sanguinea (Smith)
(Hymenoptera:Pompilidae) and a Record of Psorthaspis mariae (Cresson) From the Delmarva Peninsula
Christopher M. Heckscher
Northeastern Naturalist, Volume 21, Issue 4 (2014): N53–N55
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N53
2014 Northeastern Naturalist Notes Vol. 21, No. 4
C.M. Heckscher
Northern Range Extension of Psorthaspis sanguinea (Smith)
(Hymenoptera:Pompilidae) and a Record of Psorthaspis mariae
(Cresson) From the Delmarva Peninsula
Christopher M. Heckscher*
Abstract - Specimens representing the Pompilid genus Psorthaspis are uncommon in collections. The
spider wasp Psorthaspis sanguinea is a fairly large and striking pompilid that probably preys on members
of the Family Ctenizidae (trapdoor spiders). There are few published distribution records for this
wasp species in eastern North America and none north of Florida since 1952. I report the capture of
an adult female on 6 August 2003 from a coastal xeric Pinus sp. (pine) forest at Cape Henlopen State
Park, Sussex County, DE. This record represents a northern range extension for the species east of
the Mississippi River and perhaps range-wide. The collection site is >300 km from the nearest known
collection site in North Carolina. I also report the capture of the congener P. mariae from a different
site in Sussex County, DE, taken on 9 July 2003. This individual was captured in a semi-xeric pine
forest on an ancient inland sand ridge bordering the Nanticoke River. Although P. mariae is known
from as far north as New Jersey, this record represents a Delaware state record, a Delmarva Peninsula
record, and fills a distribution gap for the species. In the northeast, it appears that both species may
be affiliated with forested sand formations.
Spider wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) are solitary wasps that prey on spiders.
Genera often specialize on specific spider taxa (Kurczewski and Kurczewski 1968).
Therefore, the distribution of many species may be limited by prey availability. Further,
Pompilids are notoriously difficult to capture in the field because they are fast fliers and
runners, build or provision isolated nests rapidly, often in concealed areas, and have a
potent sting (Kurczewski and Kurczewski 1987). These attributes are likely partly responsible
for the lack of published information regarding the distribution and life history of
many spider wasp species.
The Pompilid genus Psorthaspis Banks is especially uncommon in collections, and its
life-history characteristics are not well documented. Prey records appear to be lacking for
all but one species, P. planata (Fox). Psorthaspis planata is known to prey on trapdoor spiders
(Ctenizidae; Bradley 1944, Davidson 1905, Evans 1966). The head and prothorax of
all species in the genus are modified, which likely aids in the extraction of recalcitrant prey
from their burrows, and it seems probable that all members of the genus prey on trapdoor
spiders (Evans 1966). Evans (1966) suggested that Psorthaspis originated in Mexico, yet
several species reach the southeastern United States, with the genus represented as far north
as New Jersey (Evans 1966). In all, about 40 species have been described, most of which
occur from Mexico to Colombia (Bradley 1944; Evans 1954, 1966).
Female Psorthaspis sanguinea (Smith) are fairly large, striking pompilids (Fig. 1). On 6
August 2003, I collected a female P. sanguinea at Cape Henlopen State Park, Sussex County,
DE (38°46'24''N, 75°5'23''W). I identified the specimen with keys presented in Bradley
(1944) and by comparison with specimens at the US National Museum, Washington, DC. I
captured the wasp with a sweep net as it flew rapidly in a zig-zag fashion about 20 cm above
the ground adjacent to a sandy trail where it was apparently searching for prey. To the best
of my knowledge, this specimen represents the only record of P. sanguinea from Delaware
*Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Delaware State University. 1200 North DuPont
Highway, Dover, Delaware 19901; checkscher@desu.edu.
Manuscript Editor: Daniel Pavuk
Notes of the Northeastern Naturalist, Issue 21/4, 2014
2014 Northeastern Naturalist Notes Vol. 21, No. 4
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C.M. Heckscher
or the Delmarva Peninsula, is the northernmost confirmed record from the Atlantic Coastal
Plain physiographic province, and may represent the northernmost North American record.
Published records of P. sanguinea are from Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, North
Carolina, and Texas (Bradley 1944, Evans 1997, Krombein 1952, Leavengood et al. 2011).
Thus, the Delaware specimen represents a significant northern range extension for this species
east of the Mississippi River. I was unable to find a published eastern record of P. sanguinea
from anywhere north of Florida since Krombein’s 1952 survey of Kill Devil Hills,
NC, a period of 62 years.
Published habitat associations for P. sanguinea and other members of the genus appear
to be scarce. Cape Henlopen is a somewhat unusual natural area for the Delmarva Peninsula
in that it is an isolated coastal and inland dune system with extensive areas of xeric or semixeric
pine forest—mostly Pinus rigida P. Mill. (Pitch Pine) and Pinus taeda L. (Loblolly
Pine). I captured my specimen of P. sanguinea in this pine forest. Two North Carolina
locations of P. sanguinea published in Bradley (1944)—“vicinity of Southern Pines, 1908
and the city of Raleigh, date unknown”—lack habitat information but suggest capture in
or near the Carolina Sandhills region which is dominated by sandy pine forests. Krombein
(1952) published two North Carolina records from the coastal Kill Devil Hills natural area.
Like my specimen, these wasps were also captured in a sandy forest community. Given
that the origin of Psorthaspis is the American southwest and Mexico, it seems likely that
P. sanguinea is at least loosely associated with xeric or semi-xeric natural community types
like those found at Cape Henlopen, the North Carolina sandhills region, and the Kill Devil
Hills capture sites. Evans (1954) noted that the distribution of Psorthaspis closely follows
Figure 1. Psorthaspis sanguinea (Smith) captured at Cape Henlopen State Park, Sussex County, DE,
on 6 August 2003. The collection of this specimen extends the range of the species >300 km north
from its previous northernmost collection site in North Carolina.
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2014 Northeastern Naturalist Notes Vol. 21, No. 4
C.M. Heckscher
the distribution of the Ctenizidae, so habitat associations may ultimately be limited by the
distribution of a yet unrecognized species of trapdoor spider occupying dry sandy forests in
this region.
On the Atlantic Coastal Plain, only one other member of the genus is known to occur as
far north as Delaware: P. mariae (Cresson) recorded from New Jersey (Bradley 1944). On
9 July 2003, I collected a single specimen of P. mariae from a forest on an inland ancient
sand ridge bordering the Nanticoke River, Sussex County, DE (38°34'54''N, 75°39'29''W).
That specimen represents a state and peninsular record, and its capture fills a distribution
gap for the species. Like the collection of P. sanguinea noted above, I captured P. mariae
in a pine forest. Krombein et al. (1979) note that P. mariae is associated with forests but
provide no other details. I captured both Delaware Psorthaspis species from geographically
separate and geologically isolated xeric- to semi-xeric forested inland sand formations, and
it appears that these species may be associated with such edaphic conditions. I have made
no attempt to relocate either species in Delaware since 2003. Both specimens remain in my
private collection, which is currently housed at Delaware State University, Dover, DE. The
occurrence of a disjunct location for P. sanguinea at Delaware’s Cape Henlopen enriches
the ecological value of this isolated coastal xeric pine forest system.
Acknowledgments. I thank F. Kurczewski for encouragement and conversation regarding
the rarity of these two wasps in this region. Both specimens were collected while conducting
survey work for the Delaware Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, Delaware
Division of Fish and Wildlife, Dover, DE.
Literature Cited
Bradley, J.C. 1944. A preliminary revision of the Pompilinae (exclusive of the tribe Pompilini) of the
Americas. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 70:23–157.
Davidson, A. 1905. An enemy of the trapdoor spider. Entomological News 14:233–234.
Evans, H.E. 1954. The genus Psorthaspis on the Mexican Central Plateau (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae).
American Novitates. No. 1662. American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY.
Evans, H.E. 1966. A revision of the Mexican and Central American spider wasps of the subfamily
Pompilinae (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae). Memoirs of the American Entomological Society No.
20. 442 pp.
Evans, H.E. 1997. Spider wasps of Colorado (Hymentoptera, Pompilidae): An annotated checklist.
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Krombein, K.V. 1952. Biological and taxonomic observations on the wasps in a coastal area of North
Carolina (Hymenoptera: Aculeata). The Wasmann Journal of Biology 10:257–341.
Krombein, K.V., P.D. Hurd, Jr., D.R. Smith, and B.D. Burks. 1979. Catalog of Hymenoptera in America
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Kurczewski, F.E., and E.J. Kurczewski. 1968. Host records for some North American Pompilidae (Hymenoptera)
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Kurczewski, F.E., and E.J. Kurczewski. 1987. Northern distribution records for some Nearctic Pompilidae
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Leavengood, J.M., C. Waichert, and J. Rodriguez. 2011. A distributional checklist of the spider wasps
(Hymenoptera:Pompilidae) of Florida. Insecta Mundi 0161:1–8.