Thursday, July 5, 2012

Digger Wasp

2 comments:

  1. That's some nice camera work there. A couple of questions/comments: You mention a "small fly", but I'm not sure that is a fly. In the second (brief) appearance it makes, I kind of thought it looked like a smaller wasp.

    Also, you referred to the digging wasp as "him." Do you have reason to think it's male? I'm not sure, but aren't digging wasps typically digging to make an egg chamber? If so, would that maybe point to this being a lady wasp?

    Altogether, the most fun I've had watching a video all day. Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. I thought it was an ant in real time. But watching the video I saw it fly away. I don't know what it was. Too bad I didn't catch it at high speed.

      You are right about female wasps being the one to make egg chambers. I caught one flying around carrying a whole grasshopper in 2008. (http://beachton.tumblr.com/post/36147385 Archives are a bitch on Tumblr. It won't show the whole series.) I wasn't sure this was the same kind of wasp though. It looks like the kind that lays their egg on a stunned spider in a properly sized hole in one of my power tools or bicycle handlebars then caps it with rock hard dirt and spit. It looks pretty similar to the one with the grasshopper too though. Maybe they do both depending on their mood.

      I called him "him" purely because of the point of view of the song. It's not like a gopher where I can actually tell the difference.

      I have a video of a robber fly too https://vimeo.com/6949883

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