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May 24, 2007
The Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) caterpillars have been a star attraction in Native Suburbia lately. I visit them every day before and after work. Their host tree is a few leaves lighter, but it is not being stripped as much as I had feared. I think it will be able to survive the experience. The caterpillars have just shed their skins for the third time which means that they will be pupating soon. I noticed that there are not as many of them crawling back and forth along the branches as when I first discovered them. Yesterday I observed one reason for their decline in numbers.
While I was visiting the little mass of leaf munchers with my camera, I noticed a paper wasp (Polistes dominulus) flying around and checking things out. At first it appeared that he was randomly passing by. He landed on a branch for a second. He took to the air and "bounced" off the mass of caterpillars, seemingly by accident. Just a lazy afternoon of flying in the warm breezes.
Suddenly, it became apparent that he was just sizing up the situation. He landed and walked over to a caterpillar on the edge of the group. There was some defensive wriggling and shaking, but the wasp was not deterred. He maneuvered into position and the next thing I knew the caterpillar was hanging from his jaws. For the rest of the story see the pictures that I took.
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Don wrote at 2007-05-25 20:48: