>Let's Play Word Association ?<
Monte Of The Month -- May 2012
Monte Of The Year 2012
Monte Of The Month -- February 2017
Monte Of The Year 2012
Monte Of The Month -- February 2017
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 4,942
From: Mountains of Utah
Tarantula... sucks to be one if there is a Tarantula Wasp in the neighborhood
Tarantula hawks are most active in the summer, during the day, although they avoid the highest temperatures. Females give the wasps their common name. Like all members of this genus, they require a spider to serve as host for their larvae, and in the case of the local species, tarantulas are the preferred nursery.
A female wasp finds a tarantula by smell. Generally, she scampers across the ground to locate a burrow. She will enter the burrow and expel the spider, then attack it. She may also encounter a male tarantula during his search for a mate. In an attack, the wasp uses her antennae to probe the spider, which may raise its front legs and bare its fangs. (A tarantula does not always counterattack.) She then attempts to sting the spider. She might seize the spider by a leg, flip it over on its back and sting it, or she may approach from the side to deliver a sting. Once stung, the tarantula becomes paralyzed within seconds. The condition will last for the remainder of its life. The wasp may drink the body fluids oozing from the spider’s wounds or from its mouth to replenish nutrients and water she used during the attack
Tarantula hawks are most active in the summer, during the day, although they avoid the highest temperatures. Females give the wasps their common name. Like all members of this genus, they require a spider to serve as host for their larvae, and in the case of the local species, tarantulas are the preferred nursery.
A female wasp finds a tarantula by smell. Generally, she scampers across the ground to locate a burrow. She will enter the burrow and expel the spider, then attack it. She may also encounter a male tarantula during his search for a mate. In an attack, the wasp uses her antennae to probe the spider, which may raise its front legs and bare its fangs. (A tarantula does not always counterattack.) She then attempts to sting the spider. She might seize the spider by a leg, flip it over on its back and sting it, or she may approach from the side to deliver a sting. Once stung, the tarantula becomes paralyzed within seconds. The condition will last for the remainder of its life. The wasp may drink the body fluids oozing from the spider’s wounds or from its mouth to replenish nutrients and water she used during the attack
