Wasp possibly dragging paralyzed huntsman spider backwards up window glass
Image details
Contributor:
Denis Crawford / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
CPBJFYFile size:
34.5 MB (954.6 KB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
2831 x 4256 px | 24 x 36 cm | 9.4 x 14.2 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
27 January 2011Location:
Pomonal, Victoria, AustraliaMore information:
Female spider hunting wasps of the family Pompilidae find a spider and sting it to paralyse it. There are about 230 species in Australia. This particular wasp Cryptocheilus bicolor is notable for producing complete immobility in large spiders by first stinging the spider between its poison fangs and then again near the junction of the cephalothorax and abdomen. Many species of spider hunting wasps place their prey in a nest in the ground (one spider per cell) and lay a single egg on it and the hatching wasp grub feeds on the live but immobilised spider. I saw her trying to fly with the spider but she could barely lift it off the ground. Dragging the spider was her best option and she was attempting a shortcut up over the house rather than going all the way around. But the glass was slippery and spider was heavy and down she would slip, sometimes all the way to the ground. Each time she fell down she started the climb again. I have no idea why she insisted on going up glass rather than up bricks where she would have had more grip. Eventually after about half an hour of this frustrating struggle she gave up and began hauling the spider the long way around the house – a distance of about 50 meters. She accomplished the task of dragging the spider to the nest in just a few minutes. After about an hour she emerged from the nest and flew to a nearby tree but didn't return to block the entrance of the nest hole until the next morning.