Species introCountry intro
Spider wasp v Huntsman spider
Needless to say, the wasp won and the spider was unceremoniously dragged away to become a living nest for her eggs. This was her dragging the poor spider up our drainpipe before she realised it was the wrong way and they both ended up in our retaining wall where she has dug a big hole and buried the spider.
These Wasp spiders do not kill their prey but rather paralyze it so that it remains fresh for the larvae to eat.
Hunting wasps are members of various taxa of the insect order Hymenoptera. Their habits and affinities vary in many ways, but all practice parental care of their larvae in that they capture prey, usually insects, to feed their larvae. Whether solitary or social, most species construct some form of protection or nest in which they hide the prey and in which the larvae can feed and pupate in reasonable security.
Most solitary hunting wasps sting their prey in such a manner as to paralyse it without.. more
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