Tarantula Hawks (Pepsis)

[Polistes]

Hey guys, new to the forum. Keeping these guys since the 11th, they seem to have a decent lifespan. They're all males, so no risk of getting stung, and they seem more content to hang out in the cage than females who have a "mission". They're very cool looking insects as well.

Anybody else keep these for a while? Sorry for low quality pics / video.

[video=youtube;KVHB9Ux90lw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVHB9Ux90lw[/video]
[video=youtube;hwg-35fhjiw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwg-35fhjiw[/video]
[video=youtube;UBCIe8q-Jeo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBCIe8q-Jeo[/video]

 

[pannaking22]

Very interesting! What have you been feeding them?

 

[Polistes]

Very interesting! What have you been feeding them?

Just a light sugar syrup mixture, and weekly I give them raw honey with crushed bee pollen mixed in for protein in hopes of adding longevity.

 

[mttviper]

That's crazy that you posted this here. I was just looking around at Tarantula Hawks, keeping, diet, all that stuff. Went to YouTube and your videos were the only ones that really popped up that weren't Tarantula Hawks attacking/killing a tarantula. I come to the board and your post is the first one I see and it's about T. Hawks! What a coincidence.

Anyways, those are awesome looking and just absolutely stunning. Did you find them through a personal breeder?

Good luck with keeping them!

 

[Polistes]

Nah, just found the males being territorial around a bush that was blooming. They'd probably be hard / impossible to breed in captivity, and if you're in an are where there's a lot of them, it doesn't seem like taking a couple to be your pets hurts the local population too much.

Wikipedia claims the males can live 1-2 months. I stopped seeing males in the wild about a week ago, so I think these guys are already living longer than their compatriots in the wild.

 

[nirotorin]

That's awesome! I hadn't considered trying to keep these before. Do you still have them?

 

[Polistes]

That's awesome! I hadn't considered trying to keep these before. Do you still have them?

One died because it had a head injury that didn't allow it to eat, but the rest are still kicking and very active, I've officially had them for a month (30 days) although they very well may be older than that, since I didn't catch them as they were hatching out. Their wings are all chewed up, the biggest one can't fly, the second biggest one can barely fly, and the smallest one can still get around decently. Partially due to age, and partially due to hitting them against the sides of the container repeatedly.

Unfortunately they aren't actually in the genus Pepsis, but a close relative called "hemipepsis". Generally hatches earlier and is a bit smaller, but look very similar, save for lack of metallic blue exoskeleton.

I'll update this post when they all kick the bucket (unless I kick the bucket) so people get an idea of their lifespan.

 

[nirotorin]

Hemipepsis, or pepsis, either way they're cool looking. I look forward to your update.

 

[Polistes]

Nothing especially interesting to report, just that the remaining three are all alive and well save fo r the condition of their wings. I've been feeding them sugar water for the past 17 days, since it seems like their appetite for a pollen-rich honey mixture is limited (maybe they can't digest high quantities) and after a certain amount they'll avoid drinking the honey / pollen mixture entirely for days on end.

I've added some powdered drink mix called "Vitamin C water" to their sugar-water which contains Vitamin C among other minerals, electrolytes and goodies, so maybe a little more nutritious than just sugar water alone.

 

[Polistes]

All 3 wasps died somewhere along the weekend (September 26-28) while I wasn't home, not entirely sure if it was old age or having no sugar water, didn't seem like they were interested in the pollen / honey mixture in there.

 

[Galapoheros]

I kept one for a while I caught in my back yard, there are a lot this year. Did you notice how they smell? It's not a bad smell but a pretty strong chemical smell, I bet a warning smell. I've seen the big black one like in your thread and I found one about 30 miles away(Austin Tx area) that had 90+% all red antennae, black at the base. Then there's a similar looking smaller one with a bright red thorax I see in my yard sometimes.