Wednesday, October 14, 2009

All in the cycle of life: A food chain in action

Just the other day we walked up upon this scene:


A type of thread-waisted solitary wasp with a stunned twin-spotted sphinx caterpillar (moth larvae). From watching we deduced - this wasp found the caterpillar on some nearby aspen or willow, paralyzed it with a sting or two and worked to carry it to its nest location to feed its young. The caterpillar appeared fairly heavy for the wasp and so we watched the wasp struggle for a while to move its prey where it preferred. We seemed to be quite a distraction so we moved on grateful for the moment. As a caterpillar fan it's sad to see one about to become lunch, but at the same time a happy moment for the wasp and her young able to live another few days or weeks due to sufficient food.

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