Nature lunch

Originally published in July 2018, refreshed in 2026.

Yesterday I finally had a good walk with Yaz again. She had surgery on her left paw a few weeks ago, a big wound that needed time to heal, so no running, no jumping and no long walks for a while 🐾

After a nice walk in a small forest nearby, it was time for lunch: coffee and fried eggs on a lovely terrace. Suddenly I felt something tickling my foot… eek! 😱 Someone else was having a nature lunch too: a spider wasp dragging its catch to its nest. Only my foot was in the way.

The spider wasp

Adult spider wasps feed on nectar from all kinds of plants. The females hunt spiders, wolf spiders for example, as food for their larvae. First the wasp bites off the spider’s legs, so it’s easier to drag it to the nest, where she lays a single egg on it. So this wasp wasn’t having lunch at all 😉

The larva feeds on its host and saves the vital organs, like the heart and central nervous system, for last. That way the spider doesn’t decompose before the larva is fully grown. The new wasp stays in its little hole in the ground and emerges the following spring 🐝

And my lunch?

Excellent too, no complaints! With an ice-cold Coca-Cola on the side, because it was quite warm, even in the shade ☀️

Enjoy! ✨