Such a cool find on my balcony: mud dauber nests CHOCK-FULL of paralysed spiders to feed the wasp larvae inside!
In the 4 nests there were 48 spiders!!
In the 4 nests there were 48 spiders!!
This is what the nests looked like when I found them (they were built into a cushion)
And this is one of the nests with the spiders inside
Some of the spiders were actually still moving. Maybe the paralysis poison wears off over time? I've kept a few spiders in jars to find out
Here are the spiders arranged in taxonomic groups (because I can't help myself). 9 families and at least 11 species of jumping spider.
So cool to think these all came from my local area!!
So cool to think these all came from my local area!!
I've finished work for the year, and have been trying to switch off... But OMG I seriously want to study this.
Could we use mud daubers to study local spider diversity?
How do they find the spiders?
Do different spiders mean different fitness benefits for the wasps?!
Could we use mud daubers to study local spider diversity?
How do they find the spiders?
Do different spiders mean different fitness benefits for the wasps?!
