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LinkedInPosts Tagged: paper wasp
Quick, Get Your Camera Ready! There's a Wasp!
Quick, get your camera ready! There's a wasp! Ever heard anyone say that? We remember capturing an image of a European paper wasp, Polistes dominula, that had just shredded a caterpillar and was about to fly the prey back to her colony. It was a Gulf Fritillary caterpillar, Agraulis...
A European paper wasp, Polistes dominula, has just shredded a Gulf Fritillary caterpillar and is about to take the prey to her colony. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A beewolf, a crabronid wasp, lands on a buckwheat blossom, unaware it's occupied by a praying mantis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Wasp Love: Pollinators, Artists and Biocontrol Experts
What a delight to see that European paper wasp nest tucked beneath the overhang of a fence in a Vacaville, Calif. neighborhood. My first thought was "Wow! Haven't seen a Polistes dominula nest for years!" (The last one I saw was hanging out on the lip of a trash can in a UC...
An European paper wasp (Polistes dominula) nest in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A European paper wasp, Polistes dominula, peers between the petals of a yellow rose. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Do You Know Where Your Pollinators Are?
It's National Pollinator Week. Do you know where your pollinators are? If you're thinking bees, butterflies, beetles, birds (hummingbirds) and bats, you're correct. But what about European paper wasps (Polistes dominula)? They're pollinators, too, says associate professor Amy Toth of the...
European paper wasps protecting the nest they're building on the lip of a recycling bin near the Mann lab, UC Davis campus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
European paper wasp chowing down on food on the lip of a recycling bin near the Mann lab, UC Davis campus. Another wasp delivered it to the guard. Maybe it's the remains of a caterpillar? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Meet Some Crafty Insects at Bohart Museum of Entomology
Talk about "crafty"--as in cunning or sneaky--insects. Ever seen a praying mantis ambushing a cabbage white butterfly? Or an assassin bug targeting a spotted cucumber beetle? Or European paper wasps attacking a Gulf Fritillary butterfly? And, how about the other kind of "crafty" insects--like...
A praying mantis dining on a cabbage white butterfly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
An assassin bug targeting prey: a spotted cucumber beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
European paper wasps attacking a newly eclosed Gulf Fritillary butterfly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
These "crafty" European paper wasps are making their nest. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A feral honey bee colony is a work of art. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Getting Steak and Dessert at the Same Time
Monarch butterflies aren't the only insects that hang around milkweed, their host plant. You're likely to see a variety of predators, such as the European paper wasp, Polistes dominula. This paper wasp is a little skittish around paparazzi so it helps to use a long macro lens, like a 105mm or a...
A European paper wasp catching prey on a showy milkweed, Asclepias speciosa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A European wasp feeding on prey on a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Eye to eye, and nose to antennae with a European paper wasp. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of European paper wasp. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
