Spider-hunting Wasp ~ Priocnemis perturbator with a Wolf spider ~ Trochosa terricola
Think I've got the IDs right, both predator and prey were massive but there are some 40 species of spider wasps in the UK . It's only the second time I've witnessed this, a truly horrible way to go... The wasps paralyse their prey, carries it off to a burrow and lay a single egg on it. The larva hatches, then gorges itself on the paralysed spider, pupating after a week to ten days then waits the best part of a year before emerging as an adult.
Spider-hunting Wasp ~ Priocnemis perturbator with a Wolf spider ~ Trochosa terricola
Think I've got the IDs right, both predator and prey were massive but there are some 40 species of spider wasps in the UK . It's only the second time I've witnessed this, a truly horrible way to go... The wasps paralyse their prey, carries it off to a burrow and lay a single egg on it. The larva hatches, then gorges itself on the paralysed spider, pupating after a week to ten days then waits the best part of a year before emerging as an adult.