Wednesday, June 23, 2021

More on the sand wasp

May/June 2021


 
Covid quarantine
Morning coffee on the patio steps.
Watching the Quisqualis fallen blooms
Being disturbed by a buzzing.

A green and black digger
vanished into a hole
at great speed
in the blink of an eye.


Another one I spied
Hovering and humming
searching it seemed
for its secret entrance.
And then it vanished within.


I take a picture, 
ASK MNS
voila, an id emerges - sand wasp, Bembix species - 
even before the said insect did!

Anyways, the next few mornings
coffee and sand wasp gazing.

Sagarika sent me this link - Bug Eric had seen them in North America.
Which one was mine
Here in Chennai
I still have not figured.

Watched the way she shovels 
so powerfully
front legs flinging the sand
making tunnels
laying eggs
feeding larvae
catching flies.


And this link described the males
buzzing and wasping
patrolling the openings
laying wait for the female to emerge;
copulate.
One track minds
or instinct?

Quarantine ends
My observations come to a halt
generations of wasps
buzz in and out
unseen and unheralded. 



1 comment:

  1. Lovely, 😍😍 ...wonderful documentation ..those clips..i can hear the buzz and obviously the koels 😃

    ReplyDelete

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