Black-banded Spider Wasp

Anoplius viaticus

Black-banded Spider Wasp (Anoplius viaticus)
Image: Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA, wikipedia

Anoplius viaticus, commonly known as the black-banded spider wasp, is a species of spider wasp. These wasps are known as spider wasps because the females capture spiders to provide their offspring with food. The paralysed spider is cached in a burrow, the wasp lays an egg on it, and when this hatches, the developing wasp larva consumes the spider. This species is found in sandy heathland across most of Europe, and also the mountainous parts of eastern Africa and the temperate parts of South Africa. Source

Where it is now

No records in the last 8 weeks. It may be out of season where the observers and sensors are.

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Arrival dates

The week it was first heard regularly in each region, after at least six weeks away. Dates differ from south to north, so a region has a range.

RegionFirst arrivalLast arrivalTypical peakAreas
Europe30 March 20266 April 202620 April 20262

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Figures are effort corrected and come from automatic sound identification, which makes mistakes. How this is measured and how it compares with human observers.