Great Golden Digger Wasp

Meet a Great Golden Digger Wasp. The picture is over 3 years old, but I wanted to do my area's 3 related wasps in a little series. They are related to both the Great Black Digger Wasp and the Katydid Wasp. These guys seem to have very similar lifestyles to their 2 relatives; all three paralyze insects to use as food for their eggs, and all three sustain themselves on nectar/pollen when adults. And all three eat orthoptera (grasshopper/cricket/katydid) insects.

Another thing all three of these species have in common is that they're known to be victims of interspecific kleptoparasitism, where after paralyzing their prey and attempting to bring it back to a nest, they're harassed by birds until they drop their prey and allow the bird to take it. (More noticeable versions of kleptoparasites are Bald Eagles that steal fish from Ospreys, or lions that take over a hyena kill.)

It is a little interesting that 3 related species are filling such similar environmental niches, though upon reflection it's not all that uncommon. We have a lot of dragonflies/damselflies that are basically doing the same thing: eating smaller insects. And my area's 4 main sulphur butterflies are all looking for legumes as host plants for their caterpillars while nectaring on flowers as adults. 

August 20, 2017 at Tullo Road, Martinsville


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