Vespa crabro, feeding behavior

[corzon]

This week I have been looking for insects on flowering Ivy, a good insect lure in autumn. Although my main target was butterflies, my attention was definitely drawn to a female Vespa crabro - not a regular sight near Amsterdam. Obviously, this wasp was hunting insects: continously chasing any insect, including big butterflies (Vanessa atalanta) - mostly to no avail though. Actually, I got the distinct impressions that this wasp was a lousy predator... In between chases she occasionally fed on Ivy flowers, possibly to fuel the energy demanding pursuits. But here tast was for honey bees! - end in the end I finally observed two captures. Here's a picture of all feeding aspects I observed today.

[Libor]

Hi, nice photos. More times, I have observed insect "assemblages" on fermented fruits (apple, pear, plum). Vespa crabro very often flew above the fruits and waited on insect, which was finally captured by Vespa. The prey was diverse, honeybee, wasps, and also bigger flies (Sarcophaga, Calliphora). Libor