Saturday 24 July 2010

Watch your weevil

This Cerceris arenaria on Maulden Heath flies in with a weevil to stock her nest hole for her young to develop on.

However the hole had become obscured while she was away and she had to put down her prey to dig it open.
While her back was turned an opportunist Hedychrum niemelai (maybe) lays an egg on the weevil. Unless it was removed by the C.arenaria the ruby-tail's grub will kill the C.arenaria's grub and take over the food-store for itself

Pictures by Keith Balmer

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