what kind of wasp did i see?

[k9luver523]

Today i saw a wasp on my front porch. it has a reddish-orange body with shiny metallic blue wings. It was carrying a dead (or at least paralyzed) spider. It crawled backwards up the wall and window and had very long nimble legs. It was definitaly a type of wasp. It had a stinger and what appeared to be red stripes on its abdomen. These are pictures of the wasp and spider:







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[Kisal]

Possibly one of these:

http://www.duke.edu/~jspippen/hymenoptera/vespidae.htm

[!potatoes!]

did it flick its wings a alot, in little pulses? that would be a pretty good double-check that it was a Pompilid wasp (family Pompilidae) - most members of that family are spider-killers...they're impressive to see working, aren't they?

[Sage Hermit]

These wasps lay their eggs inside of the spiders and their brood eat the spider from the inside. Are you in Arizona?