Arachnospila consobrina

Arachnospila consobrina is a little-known Palaearctic spider wasp.

Arachnospila consobrina
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Pompilidae
Genus:	Arachnospila
Species:	A. consobrina
Binomial name
Arachnospila consobrina (Dahlbom, 1843)
Synonyms
Pompilus consobrina Pompilus alpinus Pompilus continentalis Psammochares emissus Pompilus guimarensis Psammochares heringi Psammochares lanuginosus Pompilus nivariae Pompilus pyrenaicus Pompilus siculus[1]

Description

Like other members of the sub-genus Ammosphex this is a medium-sized red and black spider wasp. The males have a quite distinctive genital plate, but females are very similar to related species such as A. anceps and A.trivialis but can be identified by their relatively hairier head.^[2]

Distribution

Northern and central Europe, marginally in southern Britain, and also Africa and Asia.^[2]

Biology

A consobrina is single brooded, flying in July and August. The only observation of A. consobrina with prey concerns a female found under a stone near Constantinople carrying a Segestria florentina which was reported in Fahringer.^[2][3] The nesting biology of A. consobrina is almost completely unknown, but like other Arachnospila species in the sub-genus Ammosphex it is adapted to digging in loose sandy soils.^[2]