Feeding Wasp

Identification - Delta campaniforme campaniforme - potter wasp.

Light cloud this morning. An improvement on yesterday, but not the bright sun and steaming temperatures that I was hoping for. I checked the patch of scrub-land and there was some activity, although well down on what would have been with the sun, so I grabbed my stool and invoked day six of the cuckoo wasp hunt.

I picked up some reasonable shots of a chocolate pansy. I thought I had blipped this rather unassuming butterfly before, but I just checked all my blips and apparently not. Today's shots were designed as head macros, so that would not do as a first viewing.

I managed shots of three different types of wasp. This shot shows how the wasp and many of the other bugs feed on this delicate creeping foxglove bloom. Rather than entering the bell, they snip into the base of the flower to reach the nectar, thus bypassing the pollen and the plants reproductive system. Still, plenty of pollinators for this plant, it is in no danger of extinction.

Most people think of wasps as carnivores, feeding on spiders or caterpillars. In fact, this is not true at all. Wasps feed on nectar and any other sugary solution they can find, like rotting fruit or soft drinks at your picnic. Yes, you will see them kill spiders and caterpillars and drag them off. These are to lay their eggs on and feed their young only.

Alas, no sight of the cuckoo wasp today, so onward to day seven.

Dave