21 July 2020 I came across a spider apparently making a meal of a yellowjacket. Perhaps I am at the bottom of the food chain: yellow jackets go after me and spiders go after yellowjackets. When it comes to spiders and wasps, the direction of the food chain can go either way; spiders and wasps make meals of each other. I don't remember the exact tonnage of how much spiders eat in the world per day, but it is in the billions of tons. They do a lot of good work with pests, and so do wasps, so think about that next time you are stung.  Regal Jumping Spider (Phidippus regius) with captured yellowjacket (Vespula squamosa). |