Armed with one of the most painful stings on the planet, tarantula hawks have specifically evolved to hunt tarantulas. Despite their name, tarantula hawks (Pepsis genus) are actually a species of spider wasp. Tarantula hawks can reach up to 4.5 inches long. Not only do these fearsome flyers get ridiculously large for a wasp, they pack quite a punch. For humans and other vertebrates, the tarantula hawk has one of the most painful stings on the planet. American entomologist Justin Schmidt created the Pain Scale for Stinging Insects, with the help of variably willing or unwitting test subjects. He once described the tarantula hawk's sting as 'instantaneous, electrifying and totally debilitating'. Sounds like fun right? The tarantula hawk sits comfortably at second place on the Schmidt's sting pain index, beaten only by the South American bullet ant. Roadrunners are one of the few animals that will risk being stung by their fearsome stingers in order to feed on tarantula hawks. A very brave bird if you ask us. With all of this firepower loaded up in their stingers, you’d expect them to feed on order insects almost exclusively but, as it turns out, adult tarantula hawks are nectavores (they feed on flowers). They get their name and reputation from how the females hunt tarantulas in order to propagate. An adult female will paralyze a tarantula with its stinger, and then transport the spider back to the hawk's nest. Once there, the female lays an egg in the spider's abdomen, then covers the entrance of the burrow to trap the spider. Once the egg hatches, the larvae will feed on the still living spider for several weeks, avoiding vital organs to keep the spider alive until the larvae pupates into an adult wasp. Males do not have stingers, but females have a .25” stinger. They will not sting unless provoked and we highly recommend that you do not provoke them.

All Insects vary in size and shape. You will receive a high quality specimen of the selected item but not the exact one pictured. All insects are guaranteed to be top quality and sourced from ethical vendors from around the world.