A Tarantula-Hunting Wasp! What I Learned From @birdie.
travel·@mcsvi·
0.000 HBDA Tarantula-Hunting Wasp! What I Learned From @birdie.
<html> <p>About two weeks ago I wrote about a small canyon near Santiago de Chile and about giant tarantulas that live there. You might want to check it out first <a href="https://steemit.com/photography/@mcsvi/when-a-giant-tarantula-meets-a-dog-and-you-are-right-in-the-middle">here</a>. Towards the end, I included a picture from a beautifully colored wasp. I had no idea what it actually was back then until <strong>@birdie</strong> pointed out in the comment section that it was a Tarantula Hawk, a wasp with the <strong>second most painful sting in the world</strong>. I did some research and here is the story.</p> <p><img src="https://i.imgsafe.org/613a75b334.jpg" width="1620" height="1080"/></p> <p> Tarantula Hawks are in the family of spider wasps (Pompilidae) and can grow as large as 5cm. The behavior they show is remarkable and scary at the same time. The female wasp stings and paralyzes a tarantula, then carries it over to an already prepared nest, lays an egg on the spider's abdomen and seals the entrance. When the larva finally hatches, it begins to feed on the spider while sparing vital organs to keep it alive as long as possible. <strong>The spider is eaten alive. </strong></p> <p>Spiders don't seem to have evolved any defense mechanism yet, so the only thing they can do is run for their lives. Here is a video showing the 'battle'.</p> <p>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Njdp0LYdNKU</p> <p><strong>The world's second most painful sting</strong></p> <p>Well, the spider doesn't stand a chance, but what happens if the wasp stings a human? It rates as the second most painful sting on the Schmidt sting pain index just after the Amazonian bullet ant. Here is what it feels like </p> <p>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXA65eBI5vA</p> <p>So we were probably really lucky, getting really close while taking these pics.</p> <p><img src="https://i.imgsafe.org/613a899583.jpg" width="1620" height="1080"/></p> <p><img src="https://i.imgsafe.org/613a7ef97b.jpg" width="1620" height="1080"/></p> <p>And the helpless victim.</p> <p><img src="https://i.imgsafe.org/613de132d9.jpg" width="1620" height="1080"/></p> <p>Peaceful habitat</p> <p><img src="https://i.imgsafe.org/613aa0aa96.jpg" width="1620" height="1080"/></p> <p><br></p> <p>So take care when encountering animals you don't know. And thanks again @birdie for letting men know :D</p> </html>
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