Last year was the first year I grew butterfly weed, and the wasps ate virtually all of the cats when they were tiny. My question is this: do wasps only eat the caterpillars when they're tiny, or are they capable of eating larger cats as well?
Thanks! I have one larger cat, and I'm wondering if he's safe where he is, or if I should bring him in.
Jo.
? regarding wasps eating cats
We used to try to raise catalpa worms and I think the wasps spread the word that there was an "all you can eat" buffet in our trees as we ended up with several nests being built around our yard. They ate all the worms and catalpa worms get fairly large so I wouldn't bet on your cat being safe with them around.
Ok, off to plan b. :)
Thanks!
I have actually seen a wasp carrying off a larger cat in it nasty little clutches.
Bring em in!!!
And there is also another wasp that will inject eggs inside of a caterpillar. The eggs hatch and eat the cat from the inside out. I am sure it is a painful way for the poor cat to die. So I bring in just about every cat I find. :-)
Oh yeah, death to the wasps and these Tachinid flies!
Last fall I had about 10 caterpillars that pupated okay, the chrysalids looked fine until they turned spotty black and this fly larvae dropped out of the chrysalids and crawled around on the bottom of the cage, it was gross!
They are hard to kill because they are so fast and have so many creative ways to parasitize the cats. I think those predators regularly patrol the host plants and it's hard to get the cats or eggs before they do.
http://www.geocities.com/brisbane_flies/TACHINIDAE.htm
BTW Jo, what's plan b?
Just today, I was wondering what happened to the 23+ monarch cats I had. Went out again and caught a paper wasp red handed. Killed him of course. Time to clean out my BF cage and buy milkweed in pots again. That's the only method that works for me to ensure that they live out their life cycle. (Thanks to Fly, there, I have the cage now).
Just looked at that link, Fly. I've seen flies hovering around the milkweed as well. I wonder if there is something that would deter them. Some of the cats wandered away from the MW and died on other plants. Others just fell off the MW and died, others disappeared, one turned into a black mushy glop and I saw the remnants of the one today, being eaten by the wasp.
Remind me not to eat my breakfast when visiting this board.
I think I'm nauseated, now.
Jo
;)
Last Christmas I had a wasp come out of a Zebra ST chrysalid. Not the kind of present I was looking for. I'm not one to use many pesticides, but I do spray the wasps. I got stung once while tying a bromeliad to my saw palmetto and I've never forgiven them. They are my enemies! Plus, they always want to build their nests near doors and where I walk near the house. Paper wasps (which is what I have) are very territorial and quicker to attack than other wasps. And nobody hurts my caterpillars!
Melanie
I'm with you, Melanie! Touch my cats and you're asking for trouble.
To actually see a wasp coming out of a chrysalid is heartbreaking. Or those parasitic flies.
I have problems with the paper wasps and the red wasps. It doesn't seem to matter how diligent I am, there is always a nest somewhere.
Last year, I was taking recycled newspaper to the elementary school's dump and got stung 3 times. It hurt like the dickens.
Mellielong - what do you use to spray the wasps? I sprayed some today after watching two of them try to carry off the same cat. After I sprayed 3 wasps, I moved all the cats to several other milkweeds that are more isolated from each other and away from the spray I used. I'm getting ready to be gone from here quite a bit, so I can't take them inside to raise them at this time. And now you show me the tachonid fly, FLY... Is there hope?
No, Jo - I too don't read at breakfast time... maybe not even lunch or dinner... but butterflies are desert at anytime :)
Book - you have such a wonderful way with words! LOL.
Yeah - KN - I LOVE desert of any kind!
All very interesting....something else I will have to watch out for this year in the garden...
I just get those cans of wasp and hornet spray from Home Depot. I forget what the active ingredient is. I find the ones that foam up a bit work the best; your aim can be a little off and they still manage to foam up and cover everything. The wasps tend to build their nests primarily on my house so I can spray without getting anything on my plants. (Dad has a policy about not putting plants too close to the house so we don't get bugs). The place I really have to worry about the wasps is the palmetto. They build their nests inside the folds of the fronds. I've also noticed that the wasps are oddly attracted to my bromeliad blooms, especially the ones with really large infloresences (like the aechmea genus). I'm not sure what it is they're going after.
Melanie
I saw this fake wasp nest in a catalog, and since I'm cheap & handy, (and live in wasp & yellow jacket city) I'm making some out of packing tape & balloons (just wrapping round & round & then a paint job) this year.
http://www.epestsupply.com/waspinator.htm
I don't know if they actually work, but the premise is plausible.
Ned - now that's an idea that I like! It's worth a try. (ugly thing, isn't it?) Thanks for sharing.
I can't find a nest anywhere, so they must be coming from way off. They have learned my milkweed patch over the years, so I now let the milkweed pop up all over the place to make it harder for them to find the cats.
I used the foaming wasp spray as well, Mellie. I usually don't use any chemicals in the garden, but I was mad!!