Adaptation

A. aethiops can be anywhere from nine to twenty-three millimeters in length, the females generally being larger than the males (Evans I) . Their bodies have a covering of short, fine hairs that reflect deep metallic colors. Females have a tendency to be more of a blue color whereas males are usually more black with a slight bluish tint (Evans II). These spider wasps have three distinct body segments:  head, thorax and abdomen. Their head contains two antennae that are commonly used to identify different species and a mandible with one to two teeth used to carry or drag their spider prey to their nest. The insect’s thorax houses it’s wings in which they use for short flights close to the ground for when they are hunting. They are not meant for long flights but could be used for moving their prey short distances or for momentum when the spider is much larger than the wasp (Evans III). A. aethiops’s legs appear very spider-like and long which is helpful in moving their large prey. Females have spine-like structures on their front legs, called tarsal combs, that they use for digging into the earth to make their nests (Evans II). On the hind end of the abdomen, A. aethiops posses a stinger that produces a toxin that is non-harmful to humans but acts as a paralyzing agent in spiders affecting their central nervous system. This allow the wasp to more easily move the spider to a nest were it can lay it’s egg on it (Spider Wasp).