Pompiloidea

Spider Wasps, Velvet Ants, and Allies

Family Guides

Mutillidae(Velvet Ants)
Myrmosidae(Myrmosid Wasps)
Pompilidae(Spider Wasps)
Sapygidae(Club-horned Wasps)

Pompiloidea is a superfamily within Hymenoptera comprising four extant : Pompilidae (spider wasps), Mutillidae (velvet ants), Myrmosidae (myrmosid wasps), and Sapygidae (sapygid ). Members are primarily solitary wasps, many of which are ectoparasitoids. The superfamily also includes the extinct family Burmusculidae, known from Cretaceous amber.

Damaeus by (c) Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas. Used under a CC-BY license.

Epidermoptidae by (c) Cricket Raspet, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Cricket Raspet. Used under a CC-BY license.

Psoroptidae by (c) Oleksii Vasyliuk, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Oleksii Vasyliuk. Used under a CC-BY license.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Pompiloidea: /ˌpɒmpɪˈlɔɪdiə/

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Images

Habitat

vary widely among constituent . Spider wasps (Pompilidae) frequent open ground, forest edges, and vegetation where spiders are abundant. Velvet ants (Mutillidae) are ground-dwelling, often in sandy or loose soils. Myrmosidae and Sapygidae occupy diverse terrestrial environments. A study in southern Bahia, Brazil, documented Pompilidae and Mutillidae in both shade-cocoa agroforests (cabrucas) and native Atlantic Forest remnants.

Distribution

distribution spanning tropical and temperate regions worldwide. Documented in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest of southern Bahia, where 39 were recorded across agricultural landscapes with forest cover ranging from 8.5% to 82%.

Ecological Role

Ectoparasitoid . Pompilidae are specialized of spiders, provisioning nests with paralyzed prey. Mutillidae are ectoparasitoids of other Hymenoptera, particularly bees and wasps. Significance for functioning has been noted in agricultural landscape studies, though specific mechanisms remain undocumented.

More Details

Taxonomic Composition

The superfamily contains four extant : Mutillidae (velvet ants), Myrmosidae (myrmosid wasps), Pompilidae (spider wasps), and Sapygidae (sapygid ). The extinct family Burmusculidae from Cretaceous amber is also placed here.

Research on Agroforest Habitats

A 2025 study in southern Bahia found that shade-cocoa agroforests (cabrucas) can act as supplementary for Pompilidae and Mutillidae but cannot replace native forests. composition showed high dissimilarity between agricultural and forest environments, and no landscape variables affected patterns.