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Pepsis sp
two spots in one, the large wasp was dragging the apparently lifeless spider around, not sure what it was trying to do
tropical rainforest
I spotted this little drama on a shrub while I was waiting for my guide to start a hike. I'm not sure if the spider was dead but it didn't move very much while the wasp was pulling it around the leaf.
Spotted on Dec 3, 2012
Submitted on Apr 21, 2013
5 Comments
Fun fact! Spider wasps hunt spiders, including tarantulas, as food for their larvae. The female wasp captures, stings, and paralyzes a spider, before dragging it to her nest and depositing a single egg in its abdomen. When the wasp larva hatches, it feeds voraciously on the spider, avoiding vital organs for as long as possible to keep its host alive. Eventually the larva pupates, and finally becomes an adult, emerging from the spider's abdomen to continue the life cycle.
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Wonderful spotting!
I think you're right martin, thanks. It's hard to believe these wasps could take out a tarantula. These are really fascinating insects. Thank you mendes.
Its a spider wasp possibly pepsis.
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/184...
This big one would have killed the tarantula you spotted earlier.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarantula_h...
awesome pictures!