I spotted this female as she was just starting her nest. A curious spot to build it perhaps, on the steps from the car park to the deck. A relatively high traffic area around here.
The old photographer's maxim is that the best camera is the one you have with you. And in this case that was my iPhone.
Which turned out to be the right thing to do as I would not see her again.
But I would see her handiwork.
Look closely and you'll see the mud is still wet. Apparently I was just a bit to late. But I was sure I'd see her. I knew where to look and I could just set up and wait.
But it was not to be. My stakeouts were not successful.
Again, wet mud. But no wasp.
Alas, I am dependently wealthy. And our work schedules, the wasp and I, seemingly overlapped.
The penultimate phase. The wasp will lay eggs in the nest and then find a small caterpillar, paralyze it, and stuff it in as well. The caterpillar will remain alive and when the wasp larvae hatch will be fresh source of food.
Rather gruesome.
The last step is to seal everything in. And then once complete she'll head off to build another pot.
🦟 🦟 🦟 🦟 🦟
You can find all of the Yard Critter posts listed here.
No comments:
Post a Comment