Monday, June 23, 2008

Jagged Ambush Bug



A Jagged Ambush Bug (Genus Phymata) waited patiently on the Daisy Fleabane until it snagged an unsuspecting mason wasp.

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9 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

I watched a similar drama unfold in our garden last week. A black wasp flew into a spider web and seemed to be caught. The spider came out to try to grab the wasp. It was a fight to the death. At first I couldn't tell who had whom. The wasp started stinging the spider but appeared to not be able to extracate itself from the web. Then it sort of got quiet while they were in a death grip. Soon the wasp started fighting to get loose from the web and it flew away with the spider in its grasp. All that time I didn't have my camera in hand. It happened so fast. I figured if I walked away to get my camera I would miss the end of the story.

Sandpiper (Lin) said...

Wow! Beautiful picture! Looking down the page, I see you've been busy. Some of those bugs are really pretty (as bugs go.) ;-) Great pictures, all of them.

Hugh Griffith said...

Great picture! Thanks for this and the many other fascinating entomological lessons.

Pat - Arkansas said...

Wowser! The wasp is three times the size of the ambush bug! Fascinating photo.

Anonymous said...

Hi Marvin,

Thanks for your visit to my blog Brookville Daily Photo this morning. I hope you enjoyed my post today showing the honey bee and the hollyhock flower.

I saw a special last night about the disappearance of honey bees and it is sad to think that most of the fruit, nuts and vegetables we eat would disappear with them. So governments are busy trying to find the culprit before it is too late and one huge problem is the use of insecticides.

Anyway, I wanted you to know I was here to repay your visit and comment with one of my own. Kind of like "Kilroy" was here...remember those drawings everyone used to make?

I enjoyed reading your blog post for today and I thought the photography was good too. I don't recall seeing an ambush bug but have seen a lot of different size crab-like spiders waiting for insects to land. Some are white and blend with the flowers but some are tan and others gray.

Shelley said...

Fierce nature at its best!

Cath said...

That is amazing. All your posts on this blog are amazing! The clarity is fantastic.

I stand in awe and take of my hat to you (if I was wearing one).
Seriously - impressed and yet another standard I aspire to! Thanks for visiting mine.

Lana Gramlich said...

I clicked on the picture to see if there's a larger view & it brought me to a shot you'd taken of a road through the woods. Not sure how that happened. They're both really cool, though!

Texas Travelers said...

This is a new bug for me.
Great photo.

Thanks for sharing,
Troy