We saw this bug eating a wasp. We’ve never seen one before. What is it?
August 15, 2009
We saw this bug eating a wasp. We’ve never seen one before. What is it?
Your letter to the bugman Please help us identify this ugly unusual furry bug preying on a wasp. We live in the Los Angeles area and this was in our back yard.
Sincerely, Daniel and Jill
Los Angeles, CA
Dear Daniel and Jill,
The predator is a Robber Fly known as a Bee Killer, Mallophora fautrix, and the prey is a Golden Paper Wasp, Polistes aurifer.
Correction
August 15, 2009
The prey here is the European Paper Wasp, Polistes dominulus.
bugbrainz
Thanks for the correction. According to BugGuide: “no other species of Vespidae has mostly orange antennae.”
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination
The prey here is the European Paper Wasp, Polistes dominulus.