This really brown blog I looked at mentioned the words 'tarantula hawk' and I thought WTF?!?!?! I would have just thought it was a hawk that ate tarantulas but they made it clear that this was not a bird. (FYI the WTF moment of this post was that a bird built a nest in this blogger's garden and that bird must have been an idiot because the blogger has German pointers, which are bird-hunting dogs. Yes, that was their WTF. You see how much better off you are here, readers?)
But no. Tarantula hawks are not tarantula-eating hawks. They are tarantula-eating mother flipping WASPS! Wasps that eat tarantulas! Holy mother effing moly! The thought of a huge wasp wrestling a tarantula is one of the most terrifying things I have ever imagined.
The wasp is up to 5cm long and it looks like this:
I'm sorry you had to see that.
Also, the wasp belongs to the family of wasps called 'spider wasps'. Oh god, it just keeps getting more terrifying. They live in South America and according to wikipedia in some parts of Venulzuela and Columbia they are called 'matacaballos' which means HORSE KILLER.
I can't believe there are tarantula-eating, horse-killing wasps out there.
Let's all look at a picture of a Damon Albarn to make us all feel better.
= Destination reached!
Dude, you didn't mention the best bit:
ReplyDeleteThe female tarantula hawk captures, stings, and paralyzes the spider, then either drags her prey back into her own burrow or transports it to a specially prepared nest, where a single egg is laid on the spider’s abdomen, and the entrance is covered. When the wasp larva hatches, it creates a small hole in the spider's abdomen, then enters the spider's abdomen and feeds voraciously, avoiding vital organs for as long as possible to keep the spider alive. After several weeks, the larva pupates. Finally, the wasp becomes an adult, and emerges from the spider's abdomen.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!