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Project Noah Nature School
I found this Spider wasp skittering all over a depression in the ground. Immediately I knew something was going on here. So, i decided to wait and see the drama that unfolds. The Wasp sensing my presence just stopped for while making sure of not hinting towards its hidden agenda. I was completely still all the while, after a few mins she gave me a clue as to what was actually going on. She was digging a burrow in the ground. After digging a burrow slightly longer than herself she took off from the spot. It is then I setup my camera on a tripod and waited for the wasp to return. The wait lasted a few mins. Then she appeared, inspected the burrow, inspected my camera asserting its threat level. On feeling confident she grabbed the wolf spider which she had already placed on a nearby Mimosa pudica plant. She placed the paralyzed spider just beside the burrow as seen in this picture. She measured the dimensions of the spider with her antennae. Went into the burrow, made the necessary corrections and came out. She then dragged the spider into the burrow as seen in the 2nd picture. Started closing the burrow from inside. After the burrow was almost completely closed, she started kicking and dispersing the loose soil piled up near the burrow entrance. Maybe she was destroying any clues to her burrow's whereabouts. After the burrow area looked similar to the surroundings, she made 2 quick sorties. She brought a small Custard apple bud in the 1st sortie and a red flower petal in the second. The 3rd picture shows her dispersing the loose soil with her hind limbs. She arranged them near the burrow in a carefully planned manner as seen in the 4th picture. Inspected her burrow one last time and took off. :-)
Spotted on Dec 10, 2012
Submitted on Jul 12, 2013
2 Comments
Thank you Debbie :-)
Great series and explanation of the event Vipin!