De twee levens van een Anoplius viaticus-vrouwtje

The female of the spider wasp Anoplius viaticus lives two lives. In summer, when she is young, her task is to copulate and to make a deep nest for hibernation. In spring she cares for her young, makes brood nests, and catches spiders and lays eggs. This type of lifecycle might be an adaptation to the lack of fat spiders in summer or a result of the lack of competition in spring or both. This big wasp is able to survive earlier in the year because it has a better thermoregulation than smaller species. The behavioural differences between young and old female Anoplius are more striking than the anatomical ones. It is not clear how copulation takes place because the opening of the vagina could not be found. Therefore assumptions are made on grounds of the morphological features of the male and female genitals.