Tarantula Hawk Wasp Claims Its Prey

Occurred on August 23, 2022 / Cave Creek, Arizona, USA

: "This species of wasp specializes in the parasitization of tarantulas and is among the largest of wasps in the world. A female wasp only lives for a few weeks so once she’s mated, she has to go through the process of finding and successfully killing about 13 tarantulas for every single egg she lays. Once the wasp is able to find and subdue a spider, the paralyzing venom will take effect. The wasp will then drag the spider back to its burrow, lay a single egg, and leave. Because the spider is only paralyzed, it will continue to stay alive and fresh during the 3-4 day development time of the wasp egg. Once it hatches, the larva will feed on the tarantula and emerge as an adult wasp in 2-3 weeks."