Don't Bother Me! I Am Busy!

  At dawn, I was on a scaffolding with paintbrush in hand.  The day starts early when you want to beat the heat.  Painting the southeast side of the house makes for a hot time starting about 11 am.  That, and the fact that I am trying to beat the rain, has me hurrying my job.  Still, I was not too rushed that I could not enjoy a bit of nature.  My perch on the scaffolding has provided me with the perfect viewpoint of all around me..except for that directly below me.  That, my friends, is exactly where I found the most interesting bit of wildlife.

  Earlier, I noticed a rather large, perfectly carved hole in the ground by the front door.  This hole was about an inch in diameter and drilled at a 45 degree angle.  I did not ponder the hole and what made it as I had work to do.  Then, I found another hole as precise as the first.  This one was nearer the backdoor.  OK, two holes made me wonder.  While I painted, I pondered.  That is the beauty of painting!  You can act busy while merely daydreaming.  The holes had to be made by a wasp but I was just not sure which one.  It had to be a quite large wasp at that! Once I finished the wall I was painting, Son came to help move the unwieldy scaffolding.  He was unlocking the wheels when he spied our interest for the day.  Work quit for a good ten minutes as we observed a rather large, golden bee struggling to lift an even larger katydid. We found our hole digger!

  The wasp was a Great Golden Digger Wasp!  The female of the species digs many tunnels in which to lay her eggs.  Each tunnel will be stocked with a paralyzed insect of the grasshopper family.  A single egg is deposited on the grasshopper and then the tunnel is sealed.  When the egg hatches, the larva feasts upon the insect as it develops into an adult wasp.  The katydid that the Great Golden Digger Wasp was trying to carry was meant as food for her little one.  

  The female wasp is so programmed to the process of laying eggs that she does little else.  She digs many holes, captures grasshoppers (and katydids!), inspects her tunnel, pulls the insect inside, lays the egg, covers the tunnel and goes hunting again.  Studies have shown that if the wasp is interrupted during her mission, she will go back to the previous step and start again.  For example, after she catches an insect, she drops it just outside the tunnel entrance and goes inside to inspect the condition of the tunnel. If it suits her, she returns to pull the grasshopper inside by its antennae.  If the insect is moved while she is inside the tunnel, she returns it to its original position and goes back to inspect the tunnel again.  This will be repeated as often as the bug is moved.  Also, being a creature of habit, if the grasshopper has lost its antennae, she discards it and hunts another.  She does not grasp ahold to a leg or wing to pull it into the tunnel.  Only the antennae will do!

 The Great Golden Digger Wasp looks intimidating due to its size.  It is HUGE!  However, this wasp is gentle and non aggressive.  She is a good pollinator for the garden and does not harm any beneficial insects as she is only hunting grasshoppers.  As with any wasp, she can sting but only does so if harassed to the point that she has no choice.  It is perfectly safe to be in close proximity of these wasps unlike most others.  The Great Golden Digger Wasp is welcome in my garden any time!