posted 7 years ago
One of the reasons of wasps in your garden is that some species will use poisonous spiders to feed they're young. (mud dabbers and black widows, possibly yellow jackets and brown recluse) We actually have a healthy population of tarantula hawks here. Today is the first time I have ever seen one in action.
As I waterered the plants I saw something red, white, and black moving on a plant. It was a red paper wasp dragging an ugly white spider almost as big as it was. When it reached the top it jumped off and was able to cross to a nearby stump. Till it carried the spider those few inches I didn't know which creature was predator or prey. When it accidentally dropped the spider off the stump it flew down and then climbed back up again to make another leap to a plant.
I don't know how far it was gong but the whole process of climbing to the top of something and then jumping as far north as it could (12 to 24 inches depending on the launch pad) was repeated several times as I watched. The spider was simply too big for it to fly with. In my experience red paper wasps are less agressive than most of our wasps. I can live with this one bringing home a big meal for the family. It was an extra creepy looking spider.
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