NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/1472069
July 2022 • Nebraskaland 31 cleptoparasites, cuckoo wasp larvae either consume the host larva as it develops or they eat the host's food supply. Either way, the result is bad for the host. Some cuckoo wasps will watch their host species and try to fi nd the right time to swoop in and lay their egg in an untended nest or prey item. A few cuckoo wasp species parasitize the nests of bees instead of other wasps. Cuckoo wasps that target social wasp species will often take over the nest of the other species, either by sneaking in or by force, and then convince the workers in that colony to raise the young of the usurper. Wasp Habitat Wasps have three basic needs for survival. Adults that build nests need a place to build one, abundant insects or spiders to feed to their kids, and enough food to keep themselves alive until the fi rst two jobs are done. Healthy ecosystems can provide for all of those needs and contain a wide variety of wasp species. Ground nesting wasps dig burrows and tend to seek out places where soil has been recently disturbed. Some nest out in the open, but others will prioritize sites concealed by vegetation or protected by overhanging rocks, etc. Digging nests can be done in multiple ways, depending upon the species. Many wasps use their forelegs to dig and have specialized spines on those legs that act like a rake or shovel to help excavate effi ciently. Some use their mandibles to loosen soil in front of them and then use their legs to sweep the soil behind them. Thread-waisted wasps (Sphecidae) grab the soil with their mandibles and then vibrate their thoracic muscles in a way that creates a jackhammer-like eff ect. There are numerous strategies for removing excavated soil from the nest too, including bulldozing it, backwards, with a fl attened plate near their rear end or carrying it between their mandibles and front legs. Solitary, above-ground nesters construct a structure to contain their egg chambers. Building above ground provides more options for locations because they aren't tied to particular soil textures or conditions. It also allows wasps to locate nests away from ground-based predators and other threats, a strategy also employed by birds that nest in trees. Most of these wasps use pre-existing cavities in trees, hollow stems or other similar places to construct cells for eggs with a combination of mud and plant materials. Some, though, build free-standing cavities that resemble jugs or tubes, which Onyx thread-waisted wasp, probably — Prionyx sp, probably Prionyx atratus. The onyx thread-waisted wasp hunts grasshoppers that are too big for her to carry. After paralyzing one, she'll drag it to a hiding place and dig a hole to bury it in before laying an egg on it.