Sand wasp with Planthopper prey

LW Teo
on 26th June 2022

A Sand Wasp, genus Bembecinus, spotted at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve on 12 June 2022. It has caught a Ricaniid Planthopper and was in the process of moving it to a burrow. Catching such interactions is always the fascinating part of nature photography.

Photo 1: A Bembicini sand wasp dragging a plant hopper prey to its sand burrow. The prey is paralysed and stays alive to form living food for the wasp’s developing larva.
Photo 2: The sand wasp gets into the burrow to widen the mouth of its burrow. This sand wasp has the common yellow and black colour markings.
Photo 3: The sand wasp lowers its abdomen into the burrow to clear the chamber at the bottom.
Photo 4: The plant hopper prey is lowered into the burrow to form the stash of food for the sand wasp’s larva to feed on.

 

Read this post https://besgroup.org/2012/05/04/a-common-sandpiper-coming-face-to-face-with-a-wasp-2/  of a sandpiper feeding on a wasp.

Observations and all photographs © Soh Kam Yung.

 

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If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

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