This video says about itself:
Females of the parasitoid wasp Elasmosoma luxemburgense ovipositing in workers of the ant Formica rufibarbis. In the last sequence a worker ant catches a wasp while flying. Recorded in slow motion video, at a rate of 300 frames per second. Almazán (Soria, Spain), August, 2010.
Source: Cees van Achterberg, José María Durán (2011) Oviposition behaviour of four ant parasitoids (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Euphorinae, Neoneurini and Ichneumonidae, Hybrizontinae), with the description of three new European species. ZooKeys 125 : 59-106, freely available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.125.1754
See also here.
Formica rufibarbis ants in Dutch Flevoland: here.
Kamikaze ants protect the colony: here.
A species of parasitic wasp discovered by chance could provide growers with a chemical-free way of controlling a major pest. Researchers made the discovery when the wasps appeared mysteriously in colonies of cabbage stem flea beetles (CSFB) they were studying to test feeding preferences on oilseed rape: here.
This study reports a novel form of interference behaviour between the invasive wasp Vespula vulgaris and the New Zealand native ant Prolasius advenus. By videotaping interactions at bait stations, we found that wasps commonly remove ant competitors from food resources by picking up the workers in their mandibles, flying backward and dropping them unharmed some distance from the food. Both the frequency and the efficiency of the wasp behaviour significantly increased with the abundance of ant competitors. Ant removals were the most common interference events initiated by wasps when ants were numerous, while intraspecific conflicts among wasps were prominent when few ants were present. The ‘ant-dropping’ behaviour emphasizes how asymmetry in body sizes between competitors can lead to a pronounced form of interference, related to asymmetric locomotion modes: here.
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Don. 30-07-2015. Ockenburgh/ Kijkduin. Met de zomerstorm (Tief Zeljko) van zat. 25 juli 2015 zijn vele bomen omgewaaid en is Plantsoenendienst druk met het verzagen van de stammen en takken. Tijdens een wandeling op een rustig plekje zag ik dat vele wespen (Vespula vulgaris) verzamelden op de zaagsneden van de omgezaagde stammen van de Schietwilg (Salix alba). Een mooi gezicht. Ik heb wat foto’s gemaakt. De wespen zijn op de suiker van het boomsap afgekomen.
Wikipedia: De plant (wilg) bevat salicine en looizuur (gallotannine). ‘Salicine is een β-glycoside. Het aglycon bestaat uit salicylalcohol. Het suikerdeel van het glycoside bestaat uit glucose.”
Zie: http://waarneming.nl/soort/view/1709?from=2015-07-30&to=2015-07-30&prov=0
Groet, Lizia.
Arts & Culture, mediterranean plants
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