Australian Wildlife
Killer Wasp

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Wasp on spider wasp on spider

Photo 1

I've seen these black wasps around the yard for years. Mostly noticing them digging, very quickly, into sandy soil near walls and pavers. All the other wasps built mud or paper like nests to rear their young.

The other thing I noticed was these wasps were not aggressive and simply moved out of the way when disturbed in the garden. I've never known anyone to be stung by one, but I wouldn't torment any sort of wasp just to find out.

Photo 2

The black wasp must have a decent sting though. This one hit the back of the spider before it knew what happened. The spider quickly became paralised and easy prey for the wasp.

When the wasp tried to fly off with the spider, it couldnt get airbourne. After many unsuccessful attempts, the wasp dropped the spider to the ground and proceeded to drag it to its nest. Took it about two hours to cover 10 meters across country.


All photos on this page were taken using a Panasonic Lumix FZ50 digital camera.

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