I saw this wasp captured a 2nd instar of Monarch cat. and devoured it on sight! Indeed the caterpillars are more vulnerable to these kind of predators than to birds!
Second question; would the toxin within the milkweed make the wasp sick after ingested the caterpillar?
I hope this pix is clearer.
The wasp is a paper wasp in the genus Polistes; invertebrate predators do not seem deterred by the toxins in the caterpillars, but it is not clear how their metabolism deals with these.
So the Red paper wasps and these are in the same species? Are these commonly call yellow jackets?
In a word, no. I'm not sure which species your red wasps are, but they are in the genus Polistes as well. Wasps commonly known as yellow jackets are in entirely different genera; Vespula and Dolichovespula.
My hubby was stung by one of these Red Paper Wasp. So these two are related? (The red ones and the yellow with black stripes as above).
