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Project Noah Nature School
Chalybion californicum
All of these wasps are predatory, with prey ranging from spiders to caterpillars. This is a female.
Investigating pitcher plants at the North Carolina Botanical Garden, perhaps hoping to find insects in an easy way?
Spotted on Aug 11, 2012
Submitted on Sep 16, 2012
7 Comments
Thanks, Luis, Jeannette, Berndt and Antonio!
great series Maria,beautiful situation,wasp and flower with great colours,and very interesting info,thanks for sharing and congrats on one more super spotting
Great series and very interesting :)
Great series
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing the link Maria! I've shortened the link in case anyone has trouble copying it: http://j.mp/SrQvSQ
I just found this article and apparently it is the nectar that attracts the wasps, not other insects already trapped. The pitcher plants do "eat" wasps.http://www.thestar.com/yourhome/outdoor%20living/gardening%20and%20landscaping/article/1041787--day-carnivorous-plants-with-a-penchant-for-wasps
Very interesting. I wonder if any of the wasps fall victim to the pitcher plants by mistake. Did you see the wasps stealing any captured insects from within the pitcher? In the 3rd picture, it does look like the wasp could be trying to do exactly that.