A hot, humid, and quiet day and a potter wasp has secured a looper caterpillar for its “pot” nest chamber. The wasp descended on the caterpillar as it was looping along the path in front of Into The Mist in Catch the Wind. I was lucky to be there when it happened.
Potter wasps are solitary wasps, which means they nest alone, not in colonial gatherings as do some burrowing wasps or in collective hives as do yellowjackets, paper wasps, or hornets.
They construct small “pots” in which they stock caterpillars for the larvae that will later hatch from the eggs laid inside the nest chambers.
The wasp shown here stung the caterpillar, paralyzing the little larva, then moved it back and forth, from side to side, pinching it with its mandibles for a quarter-hour. It tried several times to take flight but didn’t seem able until finally it was airborne, presumably, on its way back to its “pot.”
This wasp looks to be Eumenes fraternus.
You have to be there to see it. So, get out and have a look around!
I have seen this myself. I didn’t know what kind of wasp it was but… it happened as you said exactly….. I live in Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan Philippines. I went to put clothes in the washer in the back of our house and I noticed a little pot on one of my hangers where I hang my washed clothes. I knew it was from a wasp. While I was in the back at one point the wasp came flying and adding on. I even recorded the wasp carrying a caterpillar the second time. I finally decided to get rid of it bc the wasp kept flying around and was making more pots on it. I didn’t really want to kill the wasp so I just took the hanger and hit the pavement and sure enough— the tiny pots broke and had the green long caterpillars in it. I figured they were the food for the babies. The wasp came back and tried again. I did the same thing. Then the wasp came back one last time but after that it stopped. My daughter was visiting and I was taking pics and recording it to show her. Thanks for this cool blog which I can really appreciate firsthand. Barbara Galyean
Did the wasp need to get the caterpillar into a particular shape to be able to take off? Was it a issue of weight distribution? So incredible to see this – thanks!
Wasps typically carry caterpillars head first. The caterpillar must be alive but paralyzed. Those are the only requirements I can think of in transporting the prey. The wasp may have simply been waiting or confirming that its venom had done what it was supposed to do, immobilize the caterpillar.
I just saw this exact thing the other day on my construction site. The Caterpillar looked like it was glowing! The wasp took it into a hole in the 2×6 stud.