Flowers first feed pollen and nectar to wasp adults in exchange for (unwitting) pollination services. Then the fruit feeds insect larvae who, in turn, host the endoparasitoid wasp larvae.
Torymus sp. wasp as seen in the Cambridge Botanic Gardens on October 31st. http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/140710313
#wasp #wasplove #entomology #inaturalist
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Very cool. (not so cool for the hosts, though!) And nice pics.
Are you a wasp expert? I've been trying to find some specific info on Vespula.
Thank you. I posted the question to the local feed here:
@Pat Happy you like it—crafting vignettes of arthropod life is something I enjoy. Their lives are fascinating, and critical too for our very own wellbeing [1]. Alas I am not a wasp expert, rather a wasp enthusiast. If you draft your question on Vespula here perhaps we can summon #entomology #wasp experts to chip in.
[1] Brock RE, Cini A, Sumner S. Ecosystem services provided by aculeate wasps. Biological Reviews. 2021 Aug;96(4):1645-75. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/brv.12719