I saw a large red flying insect in my backyard once attacking a fairly large spider. It started by sneaking up to the spider, and then it pounced. The entire time it was avoiding the spiders fangs (Yes, I'm pretty sure the spider was venomous) The spider appeared to be losing badly. The spider then tried to run away and it went down into a hole in the ground. The insect followed it in, and then I got bored and left. Does anyone know what species of insect this could be?
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This insect is possibly a tarantula hawk, a type of wasp. The female hunts tarantulas as food for her larvae. And if you think its not harmful to humans, think again. It has a painful sting like any other wasp. The more familiar species are up to two inches (5 cm) long with a blue-black body and bright rust-colored wings (other species have black wings with blue highlights), making them among the largest of wasps.
Check out these websites for more information about tarantula hawks:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarantula_h…
AND
http://bugguide.net/node/view/3920
Check out these websites for more information about tarantula hawks:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarantula_h…
AND
http://bugguide.net/node/view/3920
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Most likely a pompilid wasp. All members of the family Pompilidae attack spiders and use them to provision their nests. Many pompilids have red or orange wings.
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hmmmm interesting... It sounds very much like it could be a species of Ichneumoid wasp