[2][3] Females are 32-44 mm long with a dark blue body and orange wings.

[4] The females of this species sport curly antennae, while the males' are straight.

Males do not have stingers and females have ones about 7mm (¼ inch) in length.

Adults are nectarivores (feeding on flower material), but females hunt tarantulas as food for larvae, hence their name.

They are found throughout the American Southwest in desert areas.