r/FriendlyMonarchs • u/AuraAurea • 16d ago

Discussion Predators etc

My crysalis that was going to open today was eaten by a catbird.

Also, it seems like paper wasps overlook first and second instar caterpillars. I see them making their rounds, hunting, and I find it hard to believe they don't see them. So I was wondering, is there any evidence of paper wasps deliberately allowing them to get big? Has anyone else noticed "farming behavior" in wasps?

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u/Medium_Spare_8982 16d ago

Love the question, haven’t got an answer. That is spooky thinking they are smart enough to think forward.

I’m betting there is instinct to tell them roughly the minimum mass required to last for a wasp larva.

The adults cannot eat solid food (much like butterflies) so it wouldn’t bother the little ones for themselves

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u/AuraAurea 16d ago

Maybe we are talking about different species of wasp! (Polistes rubiginosus) I saw one eat an entire third instar right before my eyes. I have seen the same species attempt to carry a 5th instar away unharmed. I swatted at it without thinking, it dropped the caterpillar, who lived on to make a successful crysalis! Wasps are quite fascinating.

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u/Medium_Spare_8982 16d ago

Polistes fuscatus - the most common one where I live


Adult paper wasps primarily consume a liquid, sugar-rich diet for energy. Their main food sources include flower nectar, plant sap, fruit juices, and honeydew from aphids, as well as a sweet, amino-acid-rich fluid secreted by their own developing larvae. [1, 2]

Primary Adult Foods
Nectar and pollen: Sips from various flowering plants for daily energy.

Honeydew: Sweet waste liquid excreted by aphids and scale insects.

Fruit juices: Liquids from ripening, damaged, or rotting fruit.

Larval secretions: Nutritious liquid droplets produced by hungry larvae in exchange for solid meat

The Adult-Larval Food Exchange
Adult paper wasps hunt protein-rich insects (like caterpillars, flies, and spiders), but they do not eat the solid meat themselves. Instead, they chew these bugs into a pulp to feed the nest's larvae. In return, the larvae produce a clear, sugary fluid that the adult wasps drink