Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 26, 2026

Anoplius

Anoplius is a genus of spider wasps in the family Pompilidae called the blue-black spider wasps. It is one of two genera within the tribe Anopliini of subfamily Pompilinae.

Last revised
Jun 26, 2026
Read time
≈ 5 min
Length
1,099 w
Citations
219
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Anoplius
Anoplius viaticus (L.) (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) with prey Nuctenea umbratica (Clerck) (Arachnida: Araneidae)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Pompilidae
Genus: Anoplius
Dufour, 18341
Type species
Sphex nigerrmius
Scopoli, 17632

Anoplius is a genus of spider wasps in the family Pompilidae called the blue-black spider wasps. It is one of two genera within the tribe Anopliini of subfamily Pompilinae.3

Species

The genus includes the following species:

Subgenus Anoplius (Anopliodes)

  • Anoplius bolli Banks, 19172
  • Anoplius chiriqui Evans, 19664
  • Anoplius parsonsi (Banks, 1944)24
  • Anoplius varius (Fabricius, 1804)4
  • Anoplius vestoris Banks, 19474

Subgenus Anoplius (Anoplius)

  • Anoplius aberrans Gussakovskij, 193256
  • Anoplius alpinobalticus Wolf, 196576
  • Anoplius ambatoensis (Cameron, 1903)4
  • Anoplius angustus Banks, 19474
  • Anoplius apicalis (Haupt, 1938)85
  • Anoplius araucanus (Herbst, 1928)4
  • Anoplius basalis Dreisbach, 19506
  • Anoplius caviventris (Aurivillius, 1907)76
  • Anoplius concinnus (Dahlbom, 1845)576
  • Anoplius davisi Banks, 19474
  • Anoplius depressipes Banks, 191929
  • Anoplius dreisbachi Evans, 19662
  • Anoplius elongatus Dreisbach, 19502
  • Anoplius eous Yasumatsu, 193657
  • Anoplius fratellus (Pérez, 1905)6
  • Anoplius fulgidus (Robertson, 1901)294
  • Anoplius hispidulus Dreisbach, 195029
  • Anoplius hummeli (Haupt, 1934)5
  • Anoplius illinoensis (Cresson, 1865)29
  • Anoplius imbellis Banks, 1944294
  • Anoplius iriomotensis Tsuneki, 19905
  • Anoplius ishigakianus Tsuneki, 19905
  • Anoplius ithaca (Banks, 1912)2
  • Anoplius iwatai Yasumatsu, 193956
  • Anoplius japonicus Yasumatsu, 19435
  • Anoplius liukiu (Dalla Torre, 1897)5
  • Anoplius machachiensis (Cameron, 1903)4
  • Anoplius minor Banks, 19474
  • Anoplius niger (Haupt, 1938)5
  • Anoplius nigerrimus (Scopoli, 1763)2576
  • Anoplius obscuratus (Haupt, 1938)85
  • Anoplius pacificus Yasumatsu, 19435
  • Anoplius pannonicus Wolf, 19657
  • Anoplius papago Banks, 1941294
  • Anoplius perpilosus Banks, 19474
  • Anoplius petiolaris Gussakovskij, 193256
  • Anoplius piliventris (Morawitz, 1889)5
  • Anoplius ryukyuensis Tsuneki, 199056
  • Anoplius sachalinensis Lelej, 199456
  • Anoplius sakishimanus Tsuneki, 19905
  • Anoplius simulans (Cresson, 1869)4
  • Anoplius sundukovi Loktionov & Lelej, 20146
  • Anoplius surusumi Tsuneki, 19895
  • Anoplius tanoi Tsuneki, 19905
  • Anoplius tenuicornis (Tournier, 1889)2576
  • Anoplius toluca (Cameron, 1893)24
  • Anoplius toyohei Loktionov & Lelej, 20143
  • Anoplius varunus Banks, 19474
  • Anoplius ventralis (Banks, 1910)29
  • Anoplius virginiensis (Cresson, 1867)29

Subgenus Anoplius (Arachnophroctonus)

  • Anoplius acapulcoensis (Cameron, 1893)294
  • Anoplius aeruginosus (Tournier, 1890)76
  • Anoplius alcataria (Banks, 1947)4
  • Anoplius allorices (Banks, 1947)4
  • Anoplius americanus (Beauvois, 1811)294
  • Anoplius apiculatus (Smith, 1855)294
  • Anoplius arequipensis (Brèthes, 1924)4
  • Anoplius argelesia (Banks, 1947)4
  • Anoplius argenteomaculata (Fox, 1897)4
  • Anoplius atrimene (Banks, 1947)4
  • Anoplius bilunata (Haliday, 1836)4
  • Anoplius boliviana (Banks, 1947)4
  • Anoplius caloderes (Banks, 1945)4
  • Anoplius chiapanus Evans, 19664
  • Anoplius clotho (Smith, 1879)2
  • Anoplius cuautemoc Evans, 19664
  • Anoplius cymocles (Banks, 1947)4
  • Anoplius cynthia (Banks, 1947)4
  • Anoplius decepta (Fox, 1897)4
  • Anoplius echinatus (Fox, 1897)4
  • Anoplius emortua Banks, 19474
  • Anoplius euacantha Banks, 19474
  • Anoplius hermanni (Holmberg, 1904)4
  • Anoplius hispaniolae Evans, 19664
  • Anoplius holmbergi (Banks, 1947)4
  • Anoplius inaurata (Smith, 1879)4
  • Anoplius inculcatrix (Cameron, 1912)4
  • Anoplius infuscatus (Vander, Linden, 1827)576
  • Anoplius marginalis (Banks, 1910)29
  • Anoplius marginicollis (Taschenberg, 1869)4
  • Anoplius moestus (Banks, 1912)2
  • Anoplius nigritus (Dahlbom, 1843)9
  • Anoplius occidentalis (Dreisbach, 1954)2
  • Anoplius ornamenta (Fox, 1897)4
  • Anoplius partita (Fox, 1897)4
  • Anoplius personata (Fox, 1897)4
  • Anoplius peruviana (Banks, 1947)4
  • Anoplius platensis (Brèthes, 1909)4
  • Anoplius pulchrisoma (Banks, 1947)4
  • Anoplius relativus (Fox, 1893)2
  • Anoplius scalaris (Taschenberg, 1869)4
  • Anoplius semicinctus (Dahlbom, 1843)4
  • Anoplius semirufus (Cresson, 1867)24
  • Anoplius separata (Taschenberg, 1869)4
  • Anoplius sobrinus (Spinola, 1851)4
  • Anoplius spinimanus (Eschscholtz, 1823)4
  • Anoplius spinolae (Kohl, 1905)4
  • Anoplius taschenbergi (Brèthes)4
  • Anoplius triqueta (Fox, 1897)4
  • Anoplius turcica (Fabricius, 1775)4
  • Anoplius veranes (Banks, 1947)4
  • Anoplius viaticus (Linnaeus, 1758)576
  • Anoplius virilis (Banks, 1947)4
  • Anoplius xerophilus Evans, 19472

Subgenus Anoplius (Dicranoplius)

  • Anoplius albidus (Evans, 1969)4
  • Anoplius areatus (Taschenberg, 1869)4
  • Anoplius brevitarsus (Banks, 1947)4
  • Anoplius cujanus (Holmberg, 1881)4
  • Anoplius diphonichus (Spinola, 1851)4
  • Anoplius evansi Pitts & Sadler, 20174
  • Anoplius nigritus (Evans, 1969)4 — preoccupied by Anoplius (Ar.) nigritus Dahlbom, 1843
  • Anoplius pampero (Evans, 1969)4
  • Anoplius satanus (Holmberg, 1881)4

Subgenus Anoplius (Notiochares)

  • Anoplius amethystinus (Dahlbom, 1834)8294
  • Anoplius diffinis Banks, 19474
  • Anoplius lepidus (Say, 1836)294

Subgenus Anoplius (Onentanophus)

  • Anoplius bifasciatus Tullgren, 19048
  • Anoplius canifrons (Smith, 1855)85
  • Anoplius morosus Smith, 18558
  • Anoplius nigripes (Haupt, 1950)8
  • Anoplius nozakae Tsuneki, 19905
  • Anoplius rufipes Day, 19748
  • Anoplius saegeri Arnold, 19378
  • Anoplius yonagunianus Tsuneki, 19905

Subgenus Anoplius (Pompilinus)

  • Anoplius brevihirta (Banks, 1945)210
  • Anoplius californiae Evans, 19482
  • Anoplius clystera (Banks, 1914)2
  • Anoplius cylindricus (Cresson, 1867)29
  • Anoplius estellina (Banks, 1914)2
  • Anoplius fraternus (Banks, 1941)29
  • Anoplius insolens (Banks, 1912)29
  • Anoplius krombeini Evans, 195029
  • Anoplius leona (Cameron, 1893)2
  • Anoplius marginatus (Say, 1824)29
  • Anoplius percitus Evans, 195029
  • Anoplius rectangularis (Dreisbach, 1949)2
  • Anoplius splendens (Dreisbach, 1949)29
  • Anoplius stenotus (Banks, 1914)29
  • Anoplius subcylindricus (Banks, 1917)29
  • Anoplius tenebrosus (Cresson, 1865)2
  • Anoplius texanus (Dreisbach, 1949)2
  • Anoplius townesi Evans, 19512

Species transferred to Lophopompilus

The former subgenus Lophopompilus has been elevated to a separate genus by Loktionov and Lelej.3

Anoplius infuscatus dragging spider source ↗
References

References

  1. "Anoplius Dufour, 1834". Fauna Europaea. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  2. Krombein, Karl V. (1979). "Scoliidae". In Krombein, Karl V.; Hurd, Paul D. Jr.; Smith, David R.; Burks, B.D. (eds.). Catalog of Hymenoptera in America North of Mexico. Vol. 2. Apocrita (Aculeata). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 1553-1562.
  3. Loktionov, Valery M.; Lelej, Arkady S. (2014). Spider wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) of the Russian Far East. Vladivostok: Dalnauka. p. 472 pp. ISBN 9785804414437.
  4. Fernández, Fernando; Rodriguez, Juanita; Waichert, Cecilia; Decker, Brenna; Pitts, James (2022). "Twenty two years later: An updated checklist of Neotropical spider wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae)". Zootaxa. 5116 (4): 451–503. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5116.4.1.
  5. Lelej, Arkady S.; Yamane, Seiki (1994). "A review of the East Asian species of Anoplius Dufour (Hymenoptera, Pompilidae)". Reports of the Faculty of Science Kagoshima University (Earth Sciences and Biology). 27: 229–244. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  6. Loktionov, Valery M.; Lelej, Arkady S. (2017). "An annotated catalogue of the spider wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) of Russia". Zootaxa. 4280 (1): 1–95. doi:10.11646/ZOOTAXA.4280.1.1.
  7. Shlyahtenok, A.S.; Shlyahtenok, Arkady S.; Valery M., Loktionov (2012). "A review of the genus Anoplius Dufour, 1834 (Hymenoptera, Pompilidae) of European fauna". Euroasian Entomological Journal (in Russian). 11 (5): 449–464.
  8. Day, Michael Charles (1974). "A contribution to the taxonomy of the genus Anoplius Dufour (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) including a revision of the Palaeotropical subgenus Orientanoplius Haupt". Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology. 30 (8): 373–404. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  9. Leavengood, John M. Jr.; Waichert, Cecilia; Rodriguez, Juanita (2011). "A distributional checklist of the spider wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) of Florida". Insecta Mundi. 0161: 1–8. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  10. Finnamore, A.T.; Buckle, D.; Buddle, C.M.; Hamilton, K.G.A. (2000). "The effects of grazing and exotic grasses (crested wheat grass) on the ecological integrity of upland prairie communities of spiders, leafhoppers, and predatory wasps (Poaceae; Arthropoda: Solfugae, Opiliones, Araneae, Homoptera, Hymenoptera)". Crossing the Medicine Line Network. The Northern Mixed Grass Transboundary Conservation Initiative. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  11. Konno, K.; Hisada, M.; Itagaki, Y.; Naoki, H.; Kawai, N; Miwa, A.; Yasuhara, T.; Takayama, H. (1998). "Isolation and structure of pompilidotoxins, novel peptide neurotoxins in solitary wasp venoms". Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 250 (3): 612–616. doi:10.1006/bbrc.1998.9299. PMID 9784394.