Monday, April 28, 2008

Wasp Nest with 'Live Feeds' encountered




This week I found a freshly formed nest of Mud wasp in the corner of a window. It was made of red soil. On breaking open it from the corner I found inside the cells three big wriggling larvae of the wasp brown, and yellow in colors and also --- 61 smaller larvae of some other insect! The smaller larvae were bright greenish in color, and lay paralyzed! They have been put inside the nest by the female of ‘Mud dauber’ (Black and yellow Mud wasp), after stinging them. I had seen before only paralyzed spiders in such nests. Now with this nest I find larvae of other insects too. Probably availability factor makes difference in the type of such live foods, it seems.
Inside another older nest of the same type of wasp I found fifteen mature wasp larvae with the remnant pieces of the smaller larvae!
I was risking the stinging by the mother wasps while I broke open the nests. But later I read that they do not return to the nests after sealing the last cell with mud!
It is really a wonder behavior in these wonder wasps

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