Tarantula Hawk

[Ranitomeya]

Bumblebee eggs tend to take about four to five days to hatch, so I'm not surprised by how quickly the tarantula hawk egg hatched. The difference is that a bumblebee queen has to thermoregulate and keep the eggs warm at around 30 degrees Celsius to develop properly and hatch within that time frame, but a tarantula hawk egg receives no additional care after being provisioned and sealed in an underground chamber.

I do not know how quickly the larva develops, but I assume it will develop quickly enough that the host would not die from any wounds and decay before it were able to get the most of its meal. The female tarantula hawk only paralyzes the tarantula with its venom and it's supposed to remain a living source of nourishment for the larva. From what information I've been able to find in literature, the larva is thought to avoid feeding on any of the tarantula's essential organs and keeps it alive as long as possible until it has reached the size where it can kill and consume the tarantula before the remains decompose. The tarantula can still slowly move its limbs in response to being touched, but it's like a reflex with no coordination.

 

[The Snark]

Bumblebee eggs tend to take about four to five days to hatch, so I'm not surprised by how quickly the tarantula hawk egg hatched. The difference is that a bumblebee queen has to thermoregulate and keep the eggs warm at around 30 degrees Celsius to develop properly and hatch within that time frame, but a tarantula hawk egg receives no additional care after being provisioned and sealed in an underground chamber.

I do not know how quickly the larva develops, but I assume it will develop quickly enough that the host would not die from any wounds and decay before it were able to get the most of its meal. The female tarantula hawk only paralyzes the tarantula with its venom and it's supposed to remain a living source of nourishment for the larva. From what information I've been able to find in literature, the larva is thought to avoid feeding on any of the tarantula's essential organs and keeps it alive as long as possible until it has reached the size where it can kill and consume the tarantula before the remains decompose. The tarantula can still slowly move its limbs in response to being touched, but it's like a reflex with no coordination.

That is remarkably sophisticated. The entire immune system of an animal relies upon the central nervous system for a myriad of functions. Somehow the venom suppresses the central nervous system but leaves enough of the correct functions intact to resist bacterial growth. Compare to the average dead animal that starts to rot within hours.

 

[Chris11]

I am following this because its awesome! A little sad about the T, but its nature and would have happened regardless.

 

[Smokehound714]

you could probably rear some fast-growing tarantulas like Lasiodora and get them to the size of eutylenum and use them to farm Pepsis

 

[Ranitomeya]

It would be an interesting experiment to see whether or not native tarantula hawks are able to use exotic species. I wonder if exotic tarantulas would result in the same behavior or if they might be ignored because they're specialists on the native tarantula species. It would also be interesting to see whether or not the venom works the same way on other species.

The adult size of tarantula hawks is dependent on the size of the tarantula they're provisioned with, so maybe providing them with a much larger, better-fed tarantula might result in an adult size equal to that of the larger tarantula hawks that can be found in South America.

 

[Smokehound714]

It would be an interesting experiment to see whether or not native tarantula hawks are able to use exotic species. I wonder if exotic tarantulas would result in the same behavior or if they might be ignored because they're specialists on the native tarantula species. It would also be interesting to see whether or not the venom works the same way on other species.

The adult size of tarantula hawks is dependent on the size of the tarantula they're provisioned with, so maybe providing them with a much larger, better-fed tarantula might result in an adult size equal to that of the larger tarantula hawks that can be found in South America.

There are a few large socal species that exceed 50mm in body length. Mildei and grossa are two such species, though grossa is more common in the sonoran desert.

 

[Ranitomeya]

The larva unfortunately didn't make it. For some reason it started oozing liquid before turning brown and dying. The tarantula hawk females I had left weren't very young and died of old age, so I'm unfortunately unable to try and see if it would lay another egg on the paralyzed tarantula..

I'll try to catch some more tarantula hawks in a couple weeks and hopefully the poor tarantula doesn't go to waste.

 

[Smokehound714]

Damn, that sucks..

 

[Ranitomeya]

I went back to the canyon today and caught a couple of small tarantula hawks and a couple large ones. I wasn't able to catch as many as I was hoping and I did not see nearly as many as my last trip. The milkweeds were out of bloom and there weren't many flowers to tempt them to stop while flying through the canyon.

One of the larger ones is most likely an old Pepsis thisbe, the same species as the ones previously collected, but I can't be 100% sure since the first sign of aging on them is fraying and loss of the edges of their wings. The other large female has orange antennae, so is most likely Pepsis mildei.

Interesting note: The Pepsis thisbe female appeared to be dead or was just about dead when I got into the car to leave the canyon, most likely due to it struggling within the vial and then clogging its spiracles with fluids released during the struggle. She wasn't rigid in the way even recently dead tarantula hawks tend to be, so I grabbed a pair of forceps and compressed and decompressed its abdomen manually while removing fluids that leaked out of the sides of its abdomen with a paper towel. After a few minutes it began to twitch and was able to breathe on its own and it's now alive, moving normally, and feeding on sugar solution.

The tarantula was beginning to regain mobility and the paralysis seems to be wearing off. I wonder if tarantulas could recover completely after being stung if the larvae did not consume them.

 

[Malhavoc's]

I recall somewhere someone nursing one back from the sting, if I recall it made a slow but full recovery, Try searching the tarantula forum, but it may be a few years old, I have been lurking for some time on and off! ha! I also wonder about the death of the larvae, I would dare say it requires certain humidity to mature without ill that would be found in the sealed chamber, How were you keeping it? was it dry, wet, etc?

 

[Ranitomeya]

The tarantula and egg was kept in a large vial lined with a damp piece of paper towel with a single small hole poked into the lid.

It appears I won't be making an attempt with the Pepsis mildei as it escaped and flew outside through a crack between the ground and the screen door...
I'll see if the other female is able to utilize the tarantula. If not, I'll see if I can keep the tarantula alive long enough for it to recover.

 

[Malhavoc's]

The tarantula and egg was kept in a large vial lined with a damp piece of paper towel with a single small hole poked into the lid.

It appears I won't be making an attempt with the Pepsis mildei as it escaped and flew outside through a crack between the ground and the screen door...
I'll see if the other female is able to utilize the tarantula. If not, I'll see if I can keep the tarantula alive long enough for it to recover.

Interesting, Keep us posted On the outcome or the recovery of the T, if the T is set to recover, my suggestion is making some form of cricket juice, to drip in its mouth parts to see if it can eat. or at least 'absorb' some nutrition.