{"id":694,"date":"2014-12-07T16:04:39","date_gmt":"2014-12-07T20:04:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/mainebirds\/?p=694"},"modified":"2014-12-07T16:04:39","modified_gmt":"2014-12-07T20:04:39","slug":"parasitoid-wasps-insect-migrations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/mainebirds\/2014\/12\/07\/parasitoid-wasps-insect-migrations\/","title":{"rendered":"Parasitoid Wasps; Insect Migrations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wasp Parasitoids<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every now and then, I devote a column to a different group of flying animals, the insects.\u00a0 We\u2019ll recognize the insects as honorary birds today.<\/p>\n

This column was precipitated by an interaction I saw last weekend while I was mowing the lawn.\u00a0 I saw a black wasp interacting in the grass with what I thought was perhaps a second wasp.\u00a0 Going closer, I realized the wasp was attacking a large wolf spider.\u00a0 This interaction was the beginning of a fascinating but macabre relationship.<\/p>\n

\"Spider\"<\/a>The spider, at least five times the size of the spider wasp (family Pompilidae), tried to escape as the wasp injected a neurotoxin into the spider.\u00a0 The toxin quickly took effect and the spider was paralyzed.\u00a0 The wasp then quickly dragged the spider to the side of our house.\u00a0 It walked up a granite foundation stone and underneath the lowest cedar shingles.<\/p>\n

The rest of this tale will take place sight unseen.\u00a0 The wasp will lay one inside the paralyzed spider.\u00a0 Though paralyzed, the spider will live.\u00a0 The wasp egg will hatch inside the spider and the larva will eat the internal organs of the spider.\u00a0 The wasp larva will eventually pupate, later emerging as an adult.\u00a0 Maybe I should have saved this story for a Halloween column!<\/p>\n

Entomologists classify wasps like the one I saw as a parasitoid. Unlike a true parasite, a parasitoid either kills or sterilizes its host.\u00a0 The wasp I saw is hardly unique.\u00a0 Many wasps, in \u00a0dozens of families, are parasitoids.\u00a0 Some lay eggs on other insects but wolf spiders are commonly used. \u00a0Wolf spiders typically do not build webs.\u00a0 A spider\u2019s web is used primarily to capture prey but offers a secondary benefit of protection from wasps.\u00a0 The free-ranging wolf spiders are therefore at risk to parasitoid wasps.\u00a0 I may have unwittingly caused the demise of the spider by cutting the grass and making the spider easier to see.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Migration<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bird migration is near its peak now.\u00a0 We can predict the order of departure in the fall: first the swallows and flycatchers, then the warblers, then the sparrows and hawks.\u00a0 Migration implies a predictable, seasonal movement.\u00a0 Animals may engage in nomadic wanderings are not predictable enough to warrant as migration.\u00a0 For instance, White-winged Crossbills wander widely to find bumper crops of conifer cones.<\/p>\n

Although birds are the best migrants, they do not have a monopoly on migration.\u00a0 You have no doubt seen videos of wildebeest, zebras and other mammals migrating to and from the Serengeti Desert.<\/p>\n

Some insects migrate as well.\u00a0 A widely distributed dragonfly, the Wandering Glider, occurs on six continents.\u00a0 Populations in Africa migrate to India after the monsoon season starts.\u00a0 The abundant rains provide ample opportunities for the females to lay eggs in aquatic habitats.<\/p>\n

Some butterflies migrate as well.\u00a0 In North America, the best known migrant is, of course, the Monarch.\u00a0 Any Monarchs you see this fall will attempt to fly south to a small pine forest in mountains in northwestern Mexico.\u00a0 Even they can make it to the wintering grounds, they will not return.\u00a0 The complete migration from Mexico back to Mexico the following year requires five or six generations!<\/p>\n

Originally published on September 14, 2014]<\/p>\n\n

\n <\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wasp Parasitoids Every now and then, I devote a column to a different group of flying animals, the insects.\u00a0 We\u2019ll recognize the insects as honorary birds today. This column was precipitated by an interaction I saw last weekend while I was mowing the lawn.\u00a0 I saw a black wasp interacting in the grass with what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[162217],"tags":[],"builder_content":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/mainebirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/mainebirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/mainebirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/mainebirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/mainebirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=694"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/mainebirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":696,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/mainebirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694\/revisions\/696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/mainebirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/mainebirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/mainebirds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}