Pepsis

thumb|Pepsis versus tarantula in Arizona

Pepsis (from Ancient Greek πέψι lit. pepsis meaning 'digestion, cooking') is a genus of spider wasps belonging to the family Pompilidae. Species within this genus are also called tarantula hawks, as they usually hunt tarantulas, similarly to many species in the genus Hemipepsis. These wasps are restricted to the Americas, with the related genus Hemipepsis occurring in both Old and New Worlds.