Having kept a careful eye on last year's Wasp Spiders and then their extraordinary egg-sacs, we were beginning to think that the small 'colony' in our Suffolk garden had died out over the winter. This however was not the case, at least not the case entirely, for (while the photo below was taken in 2020) the photo above was taken yesterday. What fascinating arachnids these are! The one above shows the underside; and the one below, the top of the spider's abdomen.
As a postscript to this post I should add that some hours after taking the top photograph, we returned to 'check on' the spider, only to find a large wasp in the grass by the web. What we failed to ascertain was whether the spider was attacking the insect or the other way around. I rather thought the spider had had its day; but no, a little later on there it was, and the wasp had disappeared. Do leave a comment if you can explain what was going on. I have failed to find a website that explains how Wasp Spiders and wasps behave towards one another.
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Well done! They are fantastic creatures. Though they mainly seem to feed on grasshoppers & bush-crickets that jump into their webs I saw some images on FB where they had ensnared a Southern Migrant Hawker- a substantial meal.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to have your own colony :) I've never seen one - I looked for them at RSPB Arne without success. Sorry I can't help though with interactions between wasps and wasp spiders.
ReplyDeletemagnificent spider! I don't know how wasp spiders and wasps interact so can't help there
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your kind comments! And yes, Conehead54, I think it is indeed the grasshoppers that are the main attraction for these spiders in our garden.
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