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Project Noah Nature School
Sphex ichneumoneus
Medium-large wasp, Distinct orange and black markings. Strong flyer as it carried and flew away with the katydid shown in image. Interesting life cycle described in BugGuide.net species page: Female digs burrow nests in sandy areas almost vertically. Cells are dug radiating out from central tunnel. Larvae are provisioned with crickets, camel crickets, katydids (long-horned grasshoppers). One paralyzed prey is placed in each cell, and one egg is laid on it. One generation per year.
Fields, meadows, with sandy areas nearby
Observed at picnic table near beach access trail to Lake Erie, Erie Bluffs Metropark, Lake County Park System, Clark Rd., Perry Twp., OH. Erie Bluffs Metropark provides public access to a small beach area. - Wasp landed onto a picnic table during lunch after it had killed a katydid. I watched it for awhile, when I reached for my camera, it starting dragging the katydid to the table's edge. I got this one shot off and it flew off 10 feet to the nearby trees. From there the wasp must have carried the katydid back to the sand burrow nest. The katydid will be the larva's food once it hatches from its egg.
Spotted on Jul 15, 2012
Submitted on Jul 17, 2012
4 Comments
Wow! Incredible!!!
Wow, awesome spotting! Thank you so much for sharing :)
it seems to be pulling the Katydid by the Katydids antenna?
Very cool that you got to see this behavior!