Murder in the Milkweed

I was out pottering around the garden today when I spotted two female Northern Paper Wasps (Polistes fuscatus) with prey.  I didn't see the take-down, but I think they may be sharing one common prey, in this case a Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillar.  Several broods of the caterpillars are roaming around the milkweed patch right now so good hunting for the wasps.  I am just happy they took the tussock moth cats rather than the monarch cats.  

At this time of year, I am not sure if they are feeding themselves or still feeding larva in the nest.  I didn't see them fly off so not sure if they took the de-fuzzed caterpillar bits with them, but assuming they did.  I know this will be a bit gruesome for some, but it really is the natural order of things.  The tussock moth lay huge clusters of eggs and most of them probably don't make it to being moths.  It's the same with most butterfly larva.  But for people growing organic gardens, these wasps are very desirable as they also eat all kinds of food pest caterpillars.  And when humans leave things alone, nature tends to balance itself quite well. All a long way of saying that I like the wasps.  And if anyone wants the geeky details, I know this is a female because 1) she has 6 abdominal segments (males have 7), 2) her antennae don't curl at the tips and 3) her face is triangular in shape and mostly brown (males have prominent yellow faces).  

Had a good FT call with parents today.  They are right on track with all the moving arrangements even though the closing is delayed by about a week.  The delay in the closing won't affect their departure as they've already signed all the paperwork.  I am going to go over to Bristol Glen (where they will be living) this week and take a couple of measurements in the kitchen and hopefully pick up their mail box key.  So excited that they are going to be here soon.

Dinner last night at the farm was so much fun.  We started with some nice brie cheese and fresh-from-the-vine tomatoes and mozzarella  as the sun slowly made its way towards the horizon.  And after dinner, we had fresh watermelon and raspberries from their farm. Just perfect.  They are looking forward to meeting my parents when they get here - I know they are all going to enjoy each other very much.

xoxo
Debbi