Sand digger wasp

[Jerry van Dijk]

This is a Sand digger wasp (Ammophila sabulosa), a common parasitic wasp species in The Netherlands. It has an equally intricate as gruesome lifestyle. The females dig a 5-20 cm long vertical tunnel in the sand, which ends in a nesting chamber. When the nest if finished, they go out hunting for caterpillars. The wasps can carry caterpillars which are much larger and heavier than themselves. The caterpillar is stunned with a few stings in its nervous system, after which it is carried to the nest over distances of sometimes 20-30 meters. Once in the nest, the female lays a single egg on the caterpillar, covers the entrance of the tunnel to the nest with a stone and covers it with additional sand to hide it from other wasps. I leave it to your imagination what happens to the stunned caterpillar once the egg hatches.....:eek::eek::eek:

Nikon D7000, 200mm f/4 Micro, handheld, ISO-400, 1/640 sec, f/11, JPEG.
ACR5.0/CS4. 40% crop, EC-0.1, levels, blacks, sharpening. Cloned out an OOF stick in the FG and some black spots in BG.

Critiques very welcome, I'm still learning to handle the new gear.

[Allen Sparks]

Hi Jerry, I think this is very well done. Love the front look at the head from the side to see where the wasp is grasping the caterpillar. Other angles would have also been interesting but I like this one just fine. Would have been nice if the caterpillar had been a different color than the sand but that is just a nit. Looks like you and the new gear are getting along well.

[bhavya joshi]

Nice moments capture, like the sharp head part and angle Taking the caterpillar,
Bad day for caterpillar Thanks for Information Jerry, it really scary felling when egg are hatch:eek:.
but its a cycle..

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Jerry. Isn't nature endlessly fascinating?! This is a very cool behavioral image - the sort of image I've been hoping to get for years, but haven't succeeded. Thanks for including the biological info. Nice sharpness on the front half of the wasp and good detail in the shadows. I'd be tempted to remove the dark object in the UR as it tends to draw my eye. Looks like you're making good progress with the new gear. :S3:

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Jerry,
Great story indeed! I think you nailed the sharpness where it needed it. I'm with Steve on the touch of clean up but overall.....very nice job!

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi all, thanks for commenting! I'll take care of that dark spot. Steve, getting this shot was a matter of luck. Just being at the right place at the right time, purely accidentally. I do find it useful to dig up some ecological information from my bug guides or the internet about habitat characteristics and flight- and mating times of particular species to increase my chances.

[Don Lacy]

Hi Jerry, Great moment captured with the wasp carrying back the Caterpillar, agree with the others on there critiques to improve

[Brendan Dozier]

Intersting study image and background story, Jerry. You captured the action very well, and agree it is sharp where it needs to be.

[Jerry van Dijk]

Here's the cleaned up version. Removed the mentioned black spot, a bright spot in the URC and two other black spots in the ULC and LRC. I left in the debris in the FG to retain a feeling of a natural environment rather than a sandbox. Thanks again for commenting!

[Mitch Haimov]

Very fine behavioral image, Jerry, particularly as reposted. I, too, enjoy the biological background. If that partially buried disk wasn't there I'd suggest cropping from left. Is it a natural object or human artifact? Could clone/quick mask it out and crop if you're so inclined.

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi Mitch, thanks for commenting! I think it is just a little stick lying there. Most of the debris in the picture are little stalks, twigs and flowers of the heather that was growing along this sand trail. It should be easy to clone it out, but I don't think I would be inclined to crop the image when it is removed. The distance of the frame to the hindleg will become very short and I like how the abdomen is positioned near the ULC ROT hotspot right now.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Jerry. The tweaks you made to the repost are a nice improvement. :S3:

[OvidiuCavasdan]

Cool capture, well composed and sharp where it needs. Repost is better. Enjoy your new gear!